


My Use and Value is What You Do

by izumi2



Series: List of Questions (Civil War Team Iron Man) [21]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: BAMF James "Rhodey" Rhodes, BAMF Toni, Civil War Team Iron Man, Comic Book Science, F/F, F/M, Foul Language, Jarvis (Iron Man movies) Lives, Moderated because of trolls, No Mary Sue Characters of Any Kind, No Spoilers, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Not Natasha Friendly, Not Steve Friendly, Not Wanda Friendly, Playing the Long Game, Time Travel Fix-It, for team Tony that is, not SHIELD friendly
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-03
Updated: 2019-12-18
Packaged: 2020-01-01 10:08:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 22
Words: 55,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18333815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/izumi2/pseuds/izumi2
Summary: Toni Stark stared at her hand, expecting to also turn into dust. She closed her eyes.But Stephen Strange was much sneakier than she gave him credit for."Time" was the trick and it wastimeto truly live up to her Futurist title.~*~Moderated because of Trolls;#Civil War Team Iron Man... Woman, lol.No Endgame Spoilers in the fic, but there are spoilers in the author's notes and the comments section ;)





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, a time travel fic. Because I think fans are dead tired of all the possible and impossible mistakes being piled up that only a do-over can really fix.
> 
> This fic puts together three big AU changes, two are in the prologue and the final one will be in the next ;)) Can't just give it all away, gotta work up the mistery... that will be revealed next chap, whatever.
> 
> ... and for those that recognized where I took the title of the fic from... kudos and welcome to my fic, my fellow nerd, lol...
> 
> ~*~  
> Inspired, of course, by the amazing Time Travel Fics out there:  
> Anew and Renew by IViv;  
> If You Had This Time Again by dls;  
> A Father's Son by dnky;  
> Persistent Memory by Kizmet;
> 
> There is another fic that inspired this one but it would be spoilers *grins*
> 
> Oh! And also by the troll that complained in my "Acceptable Risk Is Not" fic that if Tony was in every movie then it would "take the fun out of it and that's what I don't understand" *smiles angelically* it gave me the idea of putting "a" Tony in basically every movie *smiles again*.

_**Why was it "Stark" and then "Tony" in the end?** _

“Spare her life… and I will give you the stone.”

“No tricks.”

“Don’t’!”

“Did we just lose?”

“Why would you do that?”

“We are in the endgame now.”

…

“Something is happening.”

“Quill?”

“Steady, Quill.”

“Oh, man.”

“Toni… there was no other way.”

“Ms. Stark? I don’t feel so good…I don’t wanna go!”

…

Eyes opened with a start, a green light slowly fading, revealing icy blue irises before they closed again.

~*~

_“Miss?”_

Toni groaned, her head pounding. Breathing hard like she just ran a marathon, the billionaire pried her eyes open and was stunned to see Malibu’s coastline.

“Jay?” her throat was burning too, great.

_“Good morning, Miss, it’s May 2 and although very unusual, you woke up at a reasonable hour, it’s currently eight a.m. so would you care for some breakfast?”_

Carefully sitting up, Tony reached for her head.

“Uh, Jay?” she was numb, not even the fact that J.A.R.V.I.S was here and now with her was really computing.

_“Yes?”_

“What’s the schedule for today?”

_“We have the press conference in five hours to explain yesterday’s happenings.”_

Toni hissed at the sun in her face, J.A.R.V.I.S dutifully shaded the windows a little, “Yesterday’s happenings being…”

_“… your fight against Obadiah Stane. Miss…I am certain of your answer but still, I must at least advice to call for a doctor. Yesterday’s match took a physical toll and you are displaying a sign of concussion… and Miss didn’t even have anything alcoholic in almost five days.”_

Toni snorted and then she giggled and then she was laughing, a hysterical sound that didn’t hide one bit her desperation.

~*~

After her breakdown that was full of tears, screams, more hysterical laugher than once again turned into screams and tears, Toni just laid on her bed all day, not answering her phone or the knocks on her door and the threats of knocking down the door.

Her doors were reinforced steel and Pepper, Rhodey and Happy weren’t Enhanced. Toni winced. Before 2012, the word “Enhanced” wasn’t even part of her vocabulary, only for her not to pass a day without saying it for the next six damn years.

With a sigh, she finally got out of bed and went to the bathroom, making a face at her swollen cheeks with tears tracks and the bruises in her body that her short pajamas displayed. Her hair was a tangled mess and her eyes were haunted.

Awesome.

“What time is it?”

_“It’s currently eleven a.m., Miss.”_

“That… does not make sense.”

_“It’s also May, 4.”_

“Ok, that makes more sense.” Toni sighed and popped her neck, wincing a little, “Really? Two whole days?”

_“May I suggest some nourishment and water?”_

“You may and I will take it, I promise.” Toni headed to her bathroom.

 _“That is certainly a surprise.”_ She wanted to laugh at the baffled tone.

The inventor let the hot water do its job while she gently and slowly lowered herself into the stone seat, her legs felt like mush as she reached for the soap.

Toni gave a half a smile, “I guess it is.”

_“Miss? Are you alright?”_

“…No, I’m not. What do I even tell them?”

_“If you are referring to Ms. Potts, Colonel Rhodes and Mr. Hogan and you are looking for a plausible excuse, I may have a suggestion.”_

And Toni truly felt the absence J.A.R.V.I.S made then. Her friend of so many years, that friend that knew when to be silently supportive and not ask questions that she really had no answers or even words for and when to push until she screamed back.

~*~

Rhodey, Pepper and Happy exchanged concerned glances. At first they were pissed that she blew off the press conference without so much as by your leave, but after ten hours completely incommunicado and they began the threats to wreck the door.

It was one thing for Toni to disappear down in the lab and they only see her again when she feels her stomach consuming itself, it was another for her to disappear into her bedroom and not even give a sign of a life.

The situation was so new and weird that J.A.R.V.I.S himself didn’t have a single protocol in place or past experience to base his decisions on. So he just told them what his sensors told him.

Toni was responsive… sort of, her breathing was normal, heartbeat normal, and she was crying.

The last one is what gave them all pause to truly take in what happened in the last couple of days… in the last three months really.

Their friend was kidnapped, held hostage by terrorists in a cave, operated on without anesthesia or basic hygiene, tortured and then she had to fight to death with the man that basically raised her after her parents died. She just had to kill the man that her father trusted his legacy with until she could take over in self-defense because the lunatic was only seeing dollar signs and here they were demanding that she came out for a press conference.

“We are being really bad friends, aren’t we?” Happy pursed his lips.

Rhodey hung his head a little, “I will… get her MIT sweater, that thing is huge but she used to love it, it’s…back in Stark Mansion.”

“She loves my mom’s recipe of banana pie I just never really have time to bake it. Well, the only thing I can reasonably do with flour.” Pepper perked up at Rhodey’s idea of comfort things.

“Cheeseburgers?” Happy smiled at them.

~*~

Toni blinked, “Oh, my God, J.A.R.V.I.S, that’s… that’s not why… the meltdown happened.” She stopped brushing the tangles out of her wet hair long enough to gawk at the nearest sensor.

_“… dare I ask?”_

“No. I’m the one who…you have got be kidding me, this is… STRANGE!”

_“I gathered as much, Miss.”_

Toni paused and smirked a little at that, whispering, she asked, “Do you want to know?”

J.A.R.V.I.S was silent for a few seconds before replying just as slowly, _“If Miss thinks it’ll help. Whatever it is, I have never seen anything that would distress…anyone so much, talking about it so soon might not be conductive for mental health recovery.”_

The billionaire snorted in grim amusement, “Jay…what happened those past couple of days…they weren’t the result of anything that happened in the last three months, it was the result of what happened in the last ten years.”

 _“Miss?”_ he began hesitantly, _“There are no records of…unscheduled… duress.”_

The brunet gave out another laugher and she honestly couldn’t tell whether they are amused or sarcastic, that couldn’t be good.

“There wouldn’t be. If… if I had foreseen what would happen… I don’t know if what he did is a blessing or a curse. I can fix my life but I also know what’s waiting for us if I fail this time… again. Last time I tried to rally them and I tried to warn them only for…what hope do I really have now?”

_“Miss?”_

But Toni went on as if J.A.R.V.I.S didn’t say anything, “He said we had one shot out of fourteen million six hundred and five…what kind of odds are those?”

_“If Miss allows me…Anastasia Antonia Stark, PhD, possess such an intellect that her IQ is literally, quantifiably impossible to measure. Only another ten people can make such a claim. At last count of 2008, the world has a population of 6.7 billion people, rounding the number, it means that Miss is literally one in six hundred nine million ninety thousand and one. Predictions indicate that by the end of your lifetime, only three other will join in a world population of eight billion.”_

Toni raised an eyebrow, impressed despite herself, “That…I…” but J.A.R.V.I.S didn’t let her finish.

_“So it seems that Miss has beaten worse odds.”_

She sighed and didn’t try to stop the tears, if the last two days were anything to go by, it wouldn’t work, “I will be unbearably emotional so I guess I should at least tell you. Organize it and also, another hard earned lesson, I need help.”

And today marked the day Toni shocked J.A.R.V.I.S speechless.

_“I think…I need more data… in the form of your explanation.”_

“Very subtle, J.A.R.V.I.S.”

_“I believe, from records of conversations between yourself and Colonel Rhodes that the last time you requested help was…”_

Toni interrupted him this time, “When I was thirteen, first semester at MIT and…I couldn’t ride a bike so Rhodey taught me. But like I said: I had ten years to learn some very simple lessons that could have helped me now, like knowing that I won’t be able to do everything on my own.”

_“…as evidenced by Colonel Rhodes teaching you how to ride a bike?”_

The CEO, and oh, God, she was CEO again, laughed, “Right… I’m twenty three… again. Oh, if it was any other situation this would have been the clichè dream of every woman, suddenly being a decade younger.”

 _“Miss?”_ and now J.A.R.V.I.S was really alarmed and Toni just laughed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> About my Toni, I really like Phoebe Tonkin! Althou a little on the skinny side for the way I picture Toni. And she just turned 30, so...
> 
>  
> 
> According to Comics!Marvel Timeline Sliding Scale, Tony was 23 when he became Iron Man, so that's where I got it, and also because of other reasons to be undisclosed *grins*
> 
> ~*~
> 
> About the chap:
> 
> I think that the emotional side of Tony’s relationships would be better off if there was ANY focus on that whatsoever, if I think that this influenced most people’s view of Siberia, as… “Tony should have gotten over it” well…
> 
> You get used to ignore something, it’s not because out of nowhere you realize that this something exists that you’ll pay attention or give it the proper importance *shrugs*.
> 
> So, humanizing what happened in Iron Man 2008, making the people closest to Toni stop and say, “Hey… there is a human behind the mental,” can make them more attentive to it in the future *smiles* and also because I think it was unfair and a disservice to the character *deadpans*.
> 
> Sure, Tony Stark is famous for being an insensitive a-hole but that doesn’t mean that the people closest to him should believe it.
> 
> ~*~
> 
> I have 16 chaps ready to go... but I'm not even in IM2 events so wish me all the luck 'cause by hell and high heavens I WILL finish this thing! I thought Endgame was going to put me in a fetal position-crying state but the last trailer only poured gasoline to the fire *eyes burn*.
> 
> Toni being a SHE does have many little reasons and a few major ones and NO, she is not gonna be some 18th century lady that is so worried about love-dovey even if there will be couples*.
> 
> This is me writing a story of badass Toni (because no matter what, Tony Stark will always be Tony Stark) that can have it all even facing problems that I see real women that I respect in my life and fiction going through WITHOUT being "ball-busters". 'Cause you don't need that to assert yourself as a powerful PERSON.
> 
> *About the couples: some of them are set on stone and I will not change no matter what. Which means that, by personal morals (and for the sake of not seeing my last meal again), there will be no Wanda/Vision or Natasha/Bruce or Steve/Toni or Bucky/Toni (not wanting to argue that point, I feel the need to elaborate: I do not blame Bucky in any capacity but I also don't think that having a more intimitate relationship than work colleagues with the guy is healthy for Tony/i OR Bucky); 
> 
> If you guys don't care all that much about couple fic spoilers and want to know what you're getting yourselves into I can put the couples tags, some are still subject to change so if the majority votes to put the tags, I will only put the ones that I will not change no matter what. And romance will not be the focus for like... at very least half of the fic?


	2. Taking Inventory

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will be updating every ten days, so will have proper time to be responsible with life and also to have enough leeway to write more. I already have quite a few chaps ready to publish but I learned my lessons on long fics and this is shaping up to be HUGE.
> 
> This chap marks the other big AU change *winks*

May 4, 2008.

.

_“Should I open a new file?”_

“Disconnect it from the web and have it only in our personal servers, Jay, all possible security measures. This only gets accessed with my voice print, written passwords, fingerprints, retinal scans and fucking DNA testing.”

_“Naturally. I took the liberty to organize all of Miss’ reports chronologically as well.”_

“Perfect. Set up an alarm for when anything that affects us are put in motion.”

_“Access to SI satellites will be complete in fifteen minutes.  I will be including external factors that can interfere in our endeavors as well.”_

It wasn’t a question but Toni nodded. And also ignored that she just let J.A.R.V.I.S have free reign over an entire satellite. Something she didn’t even do last time, instead J.A.R.V.I.S only ever had access through Iron Woman’s armor but Toni was tired of restricting J.A.R.V.I.S and she trusted him.

“Ok, putting the problems visible in the horizon aside for a moment, we need to cover our bases first. Strange saw only one possibility and from previous experience, the Avengers are not it. What kind of a team only has cohesion when the world is ending?”

_“Not a very good one, Miss.”_

“No.” She agreed, “So the Avengers are a bust, tech **_may_** be a bust but,” Toni grimaced remembering Ultron, then she sighed “if I throw a go at tech again, then I would have to throw a go at a team again. Not the Avengers, I’m still not sure if it was Hydra sabotaging the whole thing or if Fury was that desperate or that dumb but going by the premise we weren’t the only Enhanced in the world, we need to see other possible team combinations… multiple teams is the ideal if possible.”

_“A group of Enhanced takes priority over a technological solution?”_

“Not even for a second. I have some ideas that don’t even depend on an A.I at all, we will run both simultaneously and if all fails…I will blame Strange.”

_“…I still don’t know what that’s supposed to mean, Miss.”_

“He was the bastard that sent me back with zero explanation and **_no backup_**!” irrationally and completely nonsensically, Toni shouted the last part towards her ceiling as if asking God, ‘Why?!’

 _“…I see.”_ But it was clear that J.A.R.V.I.S didn’t see it at all.

Grimacing and trying to suppress an unwilling smile, Toni requested, “Stephen Vincent Strange, attending neurosurgeon at Metro-General Hospital, Head of Neuro, put him on the list to superficially track movements, like the others. I don’t want to know where he goes grocery shopping, just if…something interesting comes along that could make us meet earlier.”

_“Shall I look for any cross references between Miss’ projects and Dr. Strange’s like the others?”_

The inventor opened her mouth and closed it again before slowly saying, “Do it, but…just…we won’t do anything with the information for now just like with the rest of them.” She needed to think this through before all her knowledge became for naught.

_“Very well, Miss. Will we include how the data from future events was acquired?”_

Toni bit her lip, “Might as well. Knowing what’s coming or not, I already dodged the bullets but there is not a hundred percent guarantee that I will actually survive all the explosions a second time so if anything, a record can be sent to…whoever can do something.”

 _“That’s why we are planning in advance, Miss, so that won’t happen.”_ Toni smiled at the stubborn tilt in J.A.R.V.I.S’ voice.

“Ok. Thanos stabbed me with the nanotech construct of a sword…my own construct at that. Strange did something…”

_“Such as sending your consciousness ten years back with the needed knowledge?”_

“I… not only that. Strange used the Time Stone twice in my presence, or perhaps it was just one now that I think about it. When we reached Titan, he wanted reassurances, to know our odds, one in fourteen million? He must have seen every little detail of that one chance. I hardly know anything about… magic,” the word didn’t taste as absurdly anymore but hell if Toni wasn’t sensing the headache approaching, “but I wasn’t sent back when he retrieved the Stone from a star of all things, I was sent back **_after_** Strange gave the Stone to Thanos. Maybe it was just to refrain from Thanos to try and stop it or maybe the timeline has another meaning, emphasize that for us to focus on later, Jay. Whatever the case, Strange made sure to send me back after Thanos left Titan, after Thanos snapped his fingers actually.”

_“Why is there such a certainty that it was Dr. Strange that sent Miss back?”_

“What I am about to say burns my inside as a scientist but…half the universe was turning to dust and before Pet–” she choked on his name. Swallowing with some difficulty and trying to remember that the kid was fine and safe for now just like J.A.R.V.I.S, Toni cleared her throat, “Strange said that there was no other way…flash of green light, Time Stone green light and I woke up ten years younger.”

_“…very well.”_

“I can feel the judgment.”

_“No judgment, Miss, only worry.”_

“… I worry too.”

 _“Perhaps an automatic setting that would respond to the other Stones?”_ Jay tried after a few seconds of silence.

“Maybe,” she shrugged, “like… storing the energy of the Time Stone and it would dispel when Thanos did his thing. It is as good an explanation as any without… mystical know-how.”

_“Any other notes before we proceed to the challenges ahead?”_

“Exams… all of them, we need to know everything that changed with me. If there is something physical or just my mind.”

_“Done.”_

“Thanks, Jay. We will probably only find answers once I re-re-discover my dad’s element. That thing was based on the Tesseract that encased the Space Stone. So that would be as close as we can to find similarities and basis short of going to Kathmandu and I **_really_** don’t want to go to Kathmandu.”

_“Going to the source is shortest and surest way, Miss.”_

“I’m aware, still, Strange did say stuff about rules and… pretty sure that going back in time breaks some of them.”

_“Real life hardly looks like Back to the Future.”_

Toni snorted, “Yeah. Still not want to risk it, eventually we will ran out of resources but even taking the worst case scenario, whoever trained Strange will still be there by 2016, when Strange had… will have his accident…” she slumped back.

_“As Miss realizes, changing possible, life altering events is in your power…but should we?”_

“… I really hate you.”

_“No, you don’t.”_

“…this kind reminds me: we will be expanding your memories servers. Backup every week, ok?” she tried to keep her voice even but J.A.R.V.I.S wasn’t fooled.

_“So if my memories currently online are compromised, there will be another to perform backup.”_

“Exactly. So back on the big issues.” Toni tried to stop her hands from shaking.

_“All of our plans focus on mid to long terms, might I suggest that Miss focus on a way to… improve your own work and personal conditions?”_

And Toni laughed at that, “I can’t disagree that they were less than optimal.”

_“Indeed. For Thanos, we have two possible, not necessarily mutually inclusive or exclusive, solutions: groups of Enhanced working in tandem and a technological solution. I have many times witnessed Miss’ works so I can’t help but wonder what kind of technological solutions would stop Thanos?”_

“Ultron was a bust because of an Infinity Stone. The core idea still has some value though. Not creating an A.I with something that has been used by we don’t even want to estimate how many madmen through millennia, but using its energy. Urgh,” she groaned, “my father managed to do it while I screwed up and that does **_not_** help my daddy issues. Perhaps because he based it all on observation instead of practical experiments? Perhaps because it was the **_Mind_** Stone that fucked things up? That last one doesn’t even make sense, Vision turned out ok, sure, more interested in being human than protecting them, still…”

_“Howard Stark’s work with the Tesseract a.k.a. The Space Stone created Starkium which in turn will be used to power the Arc Reactor and block the effects of Loki’s Scepter a.k.a. the Mind Stone. Not only were they completely different in nature but it wasn’t even direct contact.”_

“Exactly. So what I thought was: doing the same thing with the other Stones.”

_“This does mean contacting Dr. Strange’s trainers in Kathmandu sooner or later.”_

“Yeah, I’m aware.” She rubbed her temples, “Anyways. Soul Stone is a no-go for like… ninety percent? Nebula said something about Vomir but since space travel is out without tipping our hand to Thor and the Asgardians that think of humans as little more than goats then I’m pretty sure it’s null and void… space travel in the scale we need is still decades away from any reasonable time frame so, no. Our best chances are: Space and Mind Stone in 2012, Reality Stone in 2013, Time Stone… T.B.D. Thanos already got the Power Stone with… somewhere and I have no way of knowing where and when.”

_“And once in possession of the Stones?”_

Toni smirked, “‘Possession’, yeah right. No, experience tells us that elements based on their studies is enough and besides,” her gaze was somewhere in the distance, “no one is supposed to have all six.”

_“Is it enough, though?”_

“The pen can be just as mighty as the sword, Jay. Studies based on the Tesseract that encased the Space Stone were enough to thwart the Mind Stone.”

 _“The Scepter fuelled by the Mind Stone.”_ J.A.R.V.I.S corrected.

“Yes, I know. But we don’t have a way to safely contain them or even use them. Still, if we can’t secure the Reality Stone somewhere on Earth, Thanos will get here with Power, Space, Reality and Soul. We will have only Time and Mind… we need to secure Reality or Space to at least get a tie. Reality **_and_** Space to really tip the scales. Thanos knows how to use the Stones to their max after all.”

_“That would mean an alliance with Asgard.”_

“Or just **_an_** Asgardian. If Thor’s biased view of Loki’s intelligence has an ounce of truth, the Chitauri Invasion in 2012 was ridiculous, Rogers-Strategy levels of ridiculous, so… Loki.”

_“Should we trust someone literally depicted as the God of Lies?”_

Toni scowled, “I don’t know, Jay, should we trust someone called, “The Merchant of Death”?” she didn’t mean to sound so bitter but J.A.R.V.I.S was still sounding apologetic.

_“Point taken, Miss.”_

“That’s not…Sorry for snapping.” She winced a little, “That doesn’t mean we just hand deliver the guy the keys to the Kingdom.”

_“Exercising caution, Miss? I believe that if I could, I would cry.”_

The inventor smirked, “There was so little need for that.”

_“Noted, Miss.”_

“Ok, that is my tech plan and the only reasonable one I got. Doesn’t matter what we throw at Thanos, the guy will have at least two Infinity Stones, nothing we can produce in the next ten years will make a dent in **_that_** unless we managed to have access to at least other three Stones. That when not counting the fact that the guy manage to fight off the Hulk without the Stones.”

_“Saving notes now. Opening new file for the Avengers?”_

“…no. If S.H.I.E.L.D trademarked that thing… no. There’s… we need balance. We can’t just treat our teammates’ wellbeing as being above the rest of the world’s but we can’t just be a group of strangers. From the little I saw of the Guardians, team as family is beautiful but can be counterproductive as nothing else.”

_“So something similar to your relationship with Colonel Rhodes?”_

Toni smiled, “Beautifully said. Rhodey would burn any enemy and bend any and all rules for me, but he would still respect accountability in the end of the day. He took leave when my parents died but once his three months were up, he set off Mama Rhodes on me and went back to duty. He was honest in his report of Iron Woman and he wouldn’t change his mind about the Accords if I was against it. He is still human, still impulsive, taking one of my armors to Hammer of all people but he is our best bet.”

_“Professionalism.”_

“A dying art. Whatever team we form… Rhodey needs to be the leader, we need him to set the tone we will work under.”

_“Some would argue that he is your friend and therefore biased.”_

“Those idiots are put to rest after 2010, uhmm.” Toni spun in her chair, she would need to think a little more on that. _Can’t give the armor before his report or else this could be an argument that Rhodey was compromised._

_“Our next step?”_

“I guess…fix my life.”

_“…I am proud of you, Miss.”_

“Thank you, Jay, aside from S.H.I.E.L.D and Bruce, we need the basis to finally free them.”

_“Them, Miss?”_

“First, we need to be prepare for everything S.H.I.E.L.D might throw at us.

_“S.H.I.E.L.D will make their move in 2010, two years from now.”_

“No, they moved on us before that, with Phil Coulson, the unassuming right hand.” The inventor rolled her eyes, “I will be damned if I let them ruin this.”

_“Miss?”_

“I didn’t have the solutions until too last time, now we have **_time_**. Arno and Gregory are coming home.” Toni smiled, brightly and eager and just a touch too dark. She never looked so much like her oldest brother.

_“I look forward to it, Miss.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Between sobs and hysterical laugher (it’s her way of coping), she told JARVIS everything… everything. In the comics, no one has a better memory than Tony, eidetic or photographic, Toni remembers every single, tiniest detail she went through. And she made sure that J.A.R.V.I.S knew it all as well… perhaps not chronologically since she would have a different set of priorities, thus J.A.R.V.I.S question in the beginning.
> 
> Once the emotional wave of everything: having a second chance, having J.A.R.V.I.S back, having her life back passed (in the sense of, there was literally no more energy), Toni would get right down to business (not that this will be the last that Toni will feel the pressure because honestly...).
> 
> How to save the universe? The Avengers were a bust…they were already a horrible team combination before they ever left the paper…
> 
> But that doesn’t mean that a team of Enhanced was a bad idea. The invasion in 2012 proved what a group with the Avengers’ skills could do, it’s just their personalities that crashed and burned. 
> 
> And tech was seemly a bust.
> 
> What was the only thing that ultimately proved to be a match for Thanos’ main choice of weapon?
> 
> Loki’s Scepter, powered by the Mind Stone, couldn’t penetrate the Starkium element that was discovered in the studies with the Tesseract, which in turn encased the Space Stone.  
> If Marvel actually did anything about this very interesting development*, then Tony’s work with the Scepter (and trying to protect Earth from other alien invasions) could have gained a new dimension that had absolutely nothing to do with artificial intelligence.
> 
> *But that would mean making Tony a part of the solution of one of the, if not THE biggest threats the Avengers ever faced, so we can’t have that without something else that Tony screwed up being just as bad to eclipse the whole thing.
> 
> Toni has no way of knowing the Ancient One also bends the rules for the sake of the world/dimension and she also wouldn’t know how/when/where Thanos got the Power Stone (from the Nova Corps/Guardians), so Power and Soul are completely out of her reach.
> 
> …a not so subtle mention of Loki *grins*. Also, Marvel came forth and said with all the words that Loki WAS being mind controlled during 2012… wow, good sense from Marvel, because it honestly doesn’t make sense for Loki to WANT to conquer Earth, what would he honestly gain for that? Being king of a bunch of “goats”?
> 
> Yes, I threw candy at Rhodey’s feet. Sue me, the man is too badass not to. The only other supporting characters I have the same feelings for are Wong and Okoye… which kinda makes me realize that everyone else kiss the main’s character’s butt: Wilson, Everett Ross, Sif and the “Warriors Three”…Marvel doesn’t have second gear. Like… a sort of ok supporting character doesn’t exist.
> 
> Like I said: this fic was inspired by many others, the inclusion of Toni’s brothers is thanks to Wix’s Legacy. Sooooo good (but I think that Wix deleted it T^T).


	3. Life and Times of Howard Stark: Interlude Part 1.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Every now and then, there will be a chapter like this: exploring the past instead of explanations in the "present" as to why things are the way they are. Hope you guys like it :D
> 
> It can be anything, from old footage hidden somewhere (lol), to passages in random diaries;
> 
> Otherwise the plot chaps will be in ten days time, meaning that the next update will be April, 15 ;)
> 
> ~*~  
> I've decided to take off the characters tags because there are just... way too many and it gets clustered and something was off with having Arno and Gregory AFTER the Maximoff tag... whut?
> 
> Anyways, the important warnings are all in the tags so...

“My name is Howard Stark. I was born in 1924 and raised in New York in the lower east side. My father sold fruit and my mother sewed shirtwaists for a factory. It was a humble beginning and not one anyone would expect if they only met me after the name Stark became known in America.”

“After selling a few of my patents... my parents were already dead and the state emancipated me and then I opened Stark Industries in 1940, a little before I became sixteen. I was targeted by assassins a few months later and agreed to join the SSR, Strategic Scientific Reserve when I was invited by Colonel Philips. I thought it would be the next step.”

“In 1941, after Pearl Harbor, SI began to develop planes and weapons for the American war effort.” Howard smiled bitterly, “Weapons are what made money, it was a war and there is always a war.”

“In 1942, I began to collaborate with Project Rebirth and a year later it would be my first contact with what the world would one day call “Enhanced” and I was partially responsible for the creation of one more. Hardly the first Enhanced considering the context and Johann Schmidt but obviously no one wanted to count _**that**_ one.”

“I was eighteen and still idealistic, still naïve. The American way and all that it encompasses. It wouldn’t be until decades later that…there was something off about the timing. Targeted by assassins and then SSR swoop in for the rescue?” Howard snorted, “The Russians were our allies as were the Chinese… the same couldn’t be said years later. So it got me thinking. I never suspected Philips, the man exhaled “by the rules”, he was a good guy. But some of the people I worked with in there…didn’t help the whole Black Widows thing that happened later. Either way, without any evidences, it’s just my paranoid mind.”

“I considered Captain America my greatest creation for years. He was living proof that I could do more than just things that explode, that I had more to give. It was what drove me to expand SI, a medical division that was never very talked about because I never manage to give it as much attention as I thought I would be able to when I opened it.”

“From there it didn’t stop. Pharmaceutics, cosmetics, vehicles, agriculture, computers even household electronics because Maria was complaining about the hair dryer.” Howard smirked in amusement.

“It wasn’t until SI expanded, not regional anymore… when SI became national, then I realized that a single person can’t invent new stuff **and** manage the company. Too much to do, **way** too much. Like Toni, I’m also great at the business side but my… our real passion is in the workshop but I couldn’t be in both places at the same time, both works take too much dedication, not to mention that most investors these days would like the safety of someone with a business degree doing the business part. Common sense and expected, no one can argue with that. Maria helped in ways that I didn’t even recognized that I needed, with her it seems that the public thought SI would sweat rose perfume.”

His eyes softened.

“I met Maria in 1965, I was forty-one and already exhausted. She was fresh air. A socialite from an Italian family that was born and raised in U.S., got a business degree but since money wasn’t an issue, she decided to turn her heritance and cunning to open philanthropic organizations. Perhaps her age – barely into her twenties – was what made her a shiny eyed idealistic… but she was what I used to be. Ten years later, none of us ever discussed marriage and even Maria never even hinted at it but…I sure surprised her, first and last time I made Maria stumble into her own words.” There as a genuine smile in the tired face.

“Who would have thought? I thought for certain that I would struggle with faithfulness, even after ten years with the same woman, never once straying, I knew myself. Maria made it easy, she was far from a trophy wife, she was interesting and interested and honestly that’s what keeps a marriage going years after the bio-chemically physical attraction wanes. She had everything she wanted, if I couldn’t give her, then Maria would get it herself but that didn’t make her complacent or bored with life… she had everything… except a child to call hers.”

“Like a cruel joke. Ten years dating, 1965 to 1975, not even with one of those “breaks” people nowadays like to take… and ten years trying…from 1975 to 1985. Maria was forty-one and I wanted it too… our hopes were disappearing before our eyes and then…”

“It was like a dream,” Howard sighed, “After so many miscarriages, Maria came to term, no traumas, no complications, exam after exam showed three healthy babies, sure, because of the… number, we were unable to see the genders but that was such a minor detail that we couldn’t care less.”

“When the triplets were born… triplets… too good to be true… because it **was** too good to be true. Two boys, one could take the business side and the other could take over R&D, they could take turns if they were like me and wanted to have a hand in both sides, control issues run in the family, I guess. The girl was Maria’s treasure of the heart, completely, and someone to be the softer side of SI’s, the face, the philanthropic endeavors that Maria dedicated herself to. Everything fell into place.”

Howard drank a bit of water.

“Arno was born and attacked and his body began to shut down, targeted by assassins still in the crib. At the tender age of seven, we could see how… mentally unstable Greg was and then… only Toni was unscratched. I… after the triplets, after the miscarriages and stillbirths, the doctors had to perform a hysterectomy on Maria…”

A look of true regret took Howard’s expression, pain and his eyes were visibly misty for the first time in decades.

“I needed to harden her. She was supposed to be the baby, the youngest and the only girl. A little princess, my little princess to be spoiled and protected, but… she no longer had that luxury. I no longer could be what I envisioned myself being when they survived to term.”

Howard had a bitter, ironic smile on his tired face, “A girl? A woman in the weapons manufacturing business? In the position of CEO? Someone that also needed to show charisma and have a way with people? Not only that but a girl that proved herself to be a marvelous engineer at the age of four? Four years old and building circuit boards…I was so proud.

And I did it.” the businessman ran his hand through his thinning hair, “Last week, she graduated _summa cum laude_ at MIT, already with PhDs and Masters and Minors in business, legal and STEM fields. It fell to her to do the job of three people: head of R&D, CEO, PR… Maria and I were already old by ‘85, her brothers couldn’t be with her, anyone could… **would** break under the pressure. Toni needed to be forged out of iron. An Iron Woman. Strong, independent, smart, cutthroat, keen eyes and sharp instincts. I raised **_the_** Toni Stark… I just regret that I didn’t raise my daughter.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Timeline:  
> 1924 - Howard Stark is born;  
> 1940 - Stark Industries is founded;  
> 1944 - Project Rebirth;  
> 1965 - Howard (41) meets Maria (21);  
> 1975 - Howard proposes to Maria;  
> 1985 - Gregory, Arno and Toni are born;  
> 2002 - Howard (78) and Maria Stark (58) died in what looked like a car accident;  
> 2008 - Toni Stark becomes Iron Woman;
> 
> ~*~
> 
> This isn’t for you, readers, but something that I need to get off my chest, so please don’t take to heart because I’m not talking about you: So… a few days after watching Captain Marvel I saw a post on Instagram:
> 
> “Everybody keep saying, “but that’s how we know Fury ended up with the Tesseract” like Howard didn’t find it in the ocean 60 years prior and they’ve already made clear that Nick and Howard were friends… all they’ve done is create another plot hole of how Howard LOST the dang thing”.
> 
> And then some meme with “deleted scene”, Fury, “Howard, where is the Tesseract?” and how, “They lost a whole super soldier, how would they keep track of something the size of a rubix cube?”
> 
> SIGHS!!!!!!!!!
> 
> In MCU, Captain Marvel passes during 1995… Howard died in 1991…I don’t think he was in much state to lose anything to anybody much less care about it, you bunch of posers!


	4. First Order of Business: Planning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be taking pieces of the comics but this fic is mostly based on MCU (as far as events goes), but if MCU want to cram Vision/Wanda down our throats with zero explanation (or even sense or basic development) then I can pick and choose what to take from the comics and what to take from MCU.
> 
> This fic WILL NOT have Wanda/Vision (despite the fact that Marvel is now making a SERIES with the "couple" literally called Scarlet Witch & Vision... yipee more abuse!).

 

May 4, 2008.

.

_“We have less time than desired. Ms. Potts, Mr. Hogan and Colonel Rhodes will be arriving within two hours with their respective items and Miss expressed interest in intercepting Agent Coulson’s call to Ms. Potts.”_

“If this thing in my head is accurate, the call will happen in three hours. Warn me when there is only an hour left and we have that time to decide what to do with Coulson and before Pepper, Happy and Rhodey get here. Now Coulson…”

_“The benefits of letting it play out as it did originally outweigh the disadvantages in this case, Miss.”_

“I was afraid you were going to say that. It took me a while to notice, but Coulson is a snake much sneakier than Romanoff would ever be…which reminds me: put Maria Hill under the same category and just like the rest, flag her movements.”

_“Done. As for Agent Coulson?”_

Toni groaned and leaned her head back. Staring at her ceiling, the billionaire thought out loud, “We do nothing and Rogers will do us the favor of pushing S.H.I.E.L.D back in the shadows from where they were dragged out in 2012 with the Chitauri Invasion…they will be basically redundant and their accomplishments won’t amount to much from 2014 to 2018…not they did much before that, and we don’t even know if we can stop 2018 from happening so whatever happens after that is irrelevant for now.”

_“By doing so, S.H.I.E.L.D feels bold enough and secure enough in their position as “friendly” to send Agent Romanova and expect no repercussions and we also open SI’s doors to the burned agents in 2014, thus resulting in the need to create the largely unnecessary Security Division whose main purpose was to cushion the Avengers so they wouldn’t have to do what amounts to groundwork. Gather and analyze data, liaise with governments and alert local authorities to create perimeters and have the closest hospitals prepared. The new division will avert considerable resources from SI’s PR and legal for at least seven months once created and it does set the precedent of Toni Stark bankrolling the Avengers. Maria Hill also infiltrated the Tower at this time to report to Nicholas Fury.”_

Toni snorted, “We still have time to come up with something to deal with Natasha, those guys were blacklisted and the thing with Hill, that… didn’t actually hurt anything but my ego.”

_“Maybe, but that is one petty victory that could have made S.H.I.E.L.D and Agent Romanova believe that Miss is willing to go to ridiculous lengths for S.H.I.E.L.D’s sake, it could be partially what gave them the sense of security to use Miss’ resources to look for Sargent Barnes while living with the luxuries of a billionaire by proxy.”_

“… that was more Rogers but I can see the argument there, save it for future discussions, in 2010, uh… when Natashalie and S.H.I.E.L.D take their second step. More urgently first: the call. We won’t do anything, we just ask Pepper what he wanted. I’m tired of not knowing what happens under my own roof. Let’s hear the summary.”

_“Not intercepting the call, Agent Coulson will contact Ms. Potts with a solution, a convenient cover to explain the night two days ago in order to appear “helpful”. I presume the “I am Iron Woman” press conference will follow.”_

“Oh, yeah. Accountability and transparency weren’t empty promises.” Despite what most seem to think, icy blue eyes rolled.

_“Very well. If Miss fakes the correct symptoms of palladium poisoning publically, then the events leading to 2010 will remain largely unchanged which will give us two years to plan our next decade, unhindered.”_

Toni made a face, “Luring S.H.I.E.L.D into a false sense of security. They are not even in front of the house to get their little foot in my door, so now and when Natashalie enters the scene would be the two times to cut the S.H.I.E.L.D-problem at the root before it takes over the plantation.”

_“If S.H.I.E.L.D will have such impact in the future, perhaps letting things be until 2010 will not only grant us much needed time to plan our steps but more room to maneuver should circumstances change.”_

“I just hate gift wrapping Romanova’s red carpet like that.”

 _“The benefits of letting it play out as it did originally outweigh the disadvantages in this case, Miss.”_ J.A.R.V.I.S repeated his argument, _“Timeline-wise, Miss will have to endure S.H.I.E.L.D for more six years until their fall if we let nature follow its course and we can always change our plans later.”_

“Ugh, I spent less time getting all my degrees.”

_“Moving correctly, we should have minimal contact with them from 2010 until their demise, including the aftermath of their fall in 2014 and without significant changes to the timeline and minimal effort from our part.”_

The inventor blinked, “…that sounded really villain-like.”

_“S.H.I.E.L.D will be an issue eventually if we are to bring Masters Gregory and Arno back. But considering everything Miss experienced, they don’t necessarily have the importance to warrant being enemies with.”_

“I love you, Jay, but they do have some advantages that could hinder our plans. The most obvious one is that they don’t answer to anyone, if it’s to face S.H.I.E.L.D, we’re gonna have to do that after New York. Never mind the headaches that we can easily avoid, they will be a bother when we start our plans with Arno and Greg.”

_“Yes. With Master Gregory in captivity in a S.H.I.E.L.D location…”_

“Arno is trapped in an iron lung, ironic, but he is defenseless in his condition. Greg in comparison is easy, we wait for Rushmanova to plant her bugs, hack S.H.I.E.L.D back and make a huge fuss and Greg is home free but Arno is a sitting duck for SHIELDRA. Greg won’t be going anywhere, S.H.I.E.L.D is too afraid of the wreck he could cause if they try to transport him and he gets loose. So we have to help Arno first, but once we move to free Greg, S.H.I.E.L.D won’t just stand by and let their Stark genius go.”

_“I believe we will get more results if we focus on the present for the moment.”_

“Ok, ok, not letting go of our advantage. Let Coulson talk to Pepper and “nature follow its course”, ask her what he wanted just to see if the few days delay of my debut press conference messed things up, I can’t think of a single reason why it would, but just in case. And…”

Toni sighed and tried to relax her shoulders.

_“Miss?”_

“I can’t tell them about this lunacy… it’s too much to just take my word for it no matter how much they trust me. But that doesn’t mean I will just sit by and let my friends be used.”

_“What is on your mind?”_

“Before 2008, I have never even heard of S.H.I.E.L.D. My father being a founder or not.”

_“Yes?”_

“Pepper and Happy have been with me for almost six years now. Rhodey and I have been friends for almost ten…and as SI’s liaison with the military, Rhodey has had access to some pretty sensitive info.”

_“…as a second generation, U.S’ main military contractor, Miss should be aware of every branch of the government.”_

Toni smiled, “Exactly. Isn’t it weird that I never heard of S.H.I.E.L.D? And that Happy, a former Marine, never heard of S.H.I.E.L.D or Air Force Lt. Colonel Rhodes didn’t either? So it’s just reasonable that we question it, correct?”

_“Indeed.”_

_“_ Coulson was the more immediate problem. Now we need to lay the groundwork for several other events simultaneously. While Culver is right around the corner and…Jay, set up SI’s satellites, I need to insert some data to ping location.”

_“Of what, if may I ask, Miss?”_

“Gama radiation for the obvious and Vibranium. That thing arrived on Earth several hundreds of years ago via a meteor, my father did a good job scouring the Earth for it, twenty pounds and it all went to make a shield,” Toni rolled her eyes, “but that’s hardly all that there is. Until 2012, SI will launch a grid of satellites, hopefully we will speed it up and by the same date, I want SI to have every gram of it that is out of Wakanda… with proof of where we found it and legally acquired it and already exploring its applications.”

_“Quite the challenge, Miss, is it wise to make an enemy out of Wakanda so soon?”_

“Oh, Jay… They didn’t help last time, I don’t see why we should. Perhaps it is a little unfair to the Wakandans that can’t do much against their absolute monarch but Wakanda won’t know what hit them.” Toni smiled as she added to her plans, the files were getting thicker.

_“So shall we move to the next arrangement? Dr. Banner will have his confrontation with Emil Blonsky a.k.a the Abomination at Culver University in exactly six days in May, 10 and in nine days, Harlem will be destroyed.”_

“A plan is in motion for S.H.I.E.L.D’s spokesperson and today’s to do list, I need you to monitor Culver and keep all possible eyes on Ross and Royal Marine Emil Blonsky, the second the guy steps foot on U.S. we know that Ross tracked Bruce to Brazil.

After Brazil, Blonsky will become the Abomination. We have very little hope of stopping ** _that_** since Bruce didn’t know so **_I_** don’t know where and when Ross does it, but if we do this right, Culver doesn’t have to become a battlefield and Harlem won’t happen at all…that’s wishful thinking, I know, we also have to make sure to hide our involvement. Most likely scenario is that we will only be able to inconspicuously help after Harlem.”

_“We are now searching for Royal Marine Emil Blonsky, I am also monitoring all airports and aircrafts that land on U.S and using facial recognition in Rocinha, Rio de Janeiro’s bottling factories.”_

“Coulson and Bruce in short-term, Vibranium medium-term to become long-term. Coulson wasn’t bold enough to try planting bugs, so S.H.I.E.L.D will keep for now until Romanoff makes them our enemy. We will take the first steps for Arno as soon as we can, too.”

_“So far, passive surveillance on over ninety individuals. With Maria Hill and Philip Coulson in high alert priority. Are there any more additions?”_

“Those are all the people that can somehow be involved plus… trainees I guess…or people that proved to need babysitting, oh, put Sharon Carter in it as well.”

_“If I may, Mr. Peter Benjamin Parker is currently seven years old.”_

“…I know. That’s why he is in the passive surveillance.”

_“…the same list as Natalia Romanova and Clint Barton.”_

Toni’s eye twitched at J.A.R.V.I.S’ deadpan, “I know that it doesn’t make sense, but just…” she sighed and rubbed her very stiff neck, “just separate them in a sub-files then, allies and… contentions relations, ah, and those that have PhDs and please don’t get all silent and judgy and think that I’m being some intellectual elitist.”

_“Lists are created for scientific allies, field allies, political/legal/business/military/PR allies and those that interlay with one another. I also took the liberty to add other names that could be of relevance. Miss will judge individual levels of caution and surveillance at earliest convenience.”_

“Ok, I liked your way better.” Toni nodded.

_“What about Barbara Morse, Jemma Simmons, not to mention Miss’ own…”_

“Those are more complicated, unlike the other… post-S.H.I.E.L.D-fall people, they will eventually have problems with other people so I will have to pick and choose who stays where.”

 _“Donald Gill and Daisy Johnson?”_ the A.I. was understandably wary.

“Considering that their first and only encounter… pretty sure we can avoid it, unlike the rest of them that I honestly have no idea about the timeline.”

_“As the help that Sirs need are not ours to give, at least not directly, I made it a priority to search for possible and fortuitous encounters with Helen Cho, Maya Hansen, Jane Foster, Jessica Campbell Jones and Jennifer Susan Walters in that order.”_

“Jennifer Walters, uh? Good call. Switch Helen with Maya in the priority list even if I’m pretty sure we won’t be able to do it, and it’s perfect.” Toni spun in her chair again.

_“…Ms. Potts is asking for you, there is still an hour and a half before Agent Coulson’s call.”_

“Perfect.” She smiled, “So we have a counter for Coulson/S.H.I.E.L.D, some info on potential allies and trying to see our best chances to approach Bruce, all the while searching for Vibranium and speeding things up with the ladies. Damn, I hate doing this to them again, but until we have more concrete plans…we will play along that I’m…that I had a… meltdown, not a lie anyways.”

It’s not like Toni wasn’t affected that first time with Obadiah, it’s just… it happened after the press conference, after Fury – she rolled her eyes – and she was completely by herself with only J.A.R.V.I.S. **_Then_** she allowed herself to truly think what happened and what she had to do.

 _Uncle Obie… dead by her hands_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phil is a snake!!!
> 
> Not so much in IM until you watch IM2 and realize that he was manipulative as f…
> 
> “Excuse me, I represent an organization that you, a military governmental contractor, never heard of, and I’m not only able to help you, but we also can create and forge alibies and have all the answers to your problems… literally including a replacement for the stuff that is killing you that should already belong to you but we held on to it because… reasons that no one explains ever and that no one should question ever because our only answer is, “Uh…we are the good guys.”.”
> 
> “Also… if you don’t save your own life but in our conditions with information and stuff that should already be your possession as the message left by your deceased father proved, I will tazer you and watch Supernanny as you seizure in the ground regardless of the fact that the ELECTROMAGNET that is basically your life support is currently surgically attached to your chest is no biggie.”
> 
> And I have the headcanon that Phil being a “friend” (on whose definition IDK) is what made Tony NOT sue Natashalie from hell and back.
> 
> Yes, I’ll be exploring Arno and Gregory’s problems (the reason they are not around) a lot more, A LOT more, no worries ;)) how was their childhood/Toni/why they are where they are…
> 
> Also, Vibranium, because Wakanda is not the only beneficiary and I plan to explore the fact that it was fricking meteor that brought it Earth to high heavens.
> 
> This fic explores to the max the fact that even Reed Richards said that Tony Stark is the best multitasker in the world… half of the universe depends on it.
> 
> Yes, I tease readers a lot by mentioning so many characters, some will have quite the spotlight and some will be allies in the relative shadows. Not SHIELD-shadows, but more people to be Toni’s support.
> 
> ~*~  
> I'm binge watching Grey's Anatomy and Brooklyn 99 so if there is any quotes and me stealing lines... it's not a coincidence, LOL.


	5. First Order of Business: Execution

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was too hyped up to wait until the 25th and I'm currently in the process of numbing myself for Endgame, so a week earlier than I said I would update:

May 4, 2008.

.

“Toni!” Pepper jumped to her feet at the sight of the billionaire coming up from her workshop instead of down from her bedroom.

Although normal for Toni, Pepper didn’t know if it was a sign of improvement. Her friend looked…

She was wearing fresh clothes and she clearly washed, her hair was still wet but…There were bruises everywhere but her face, where only a cut marred her forehead, and the haunted look on Toni’s face just completed a look that belonged to the cover of domestic violence brochure. And Pepper wanted to cry, but all she could really do was thank the heavens that Rhodey and Happy had yet to arrive to see it.

“Hey, Pep. I… I’m sorry I blew the conference.”

And what could she say to this?

“It really doesn’t matter, Toni, I should be the one apologizing. I have been a horrible friend and…I’m so sorry.”

The billionaire gaped slightly at her, “Don’t…worry about it.”

“I already do. You have been through hell and we just demanded things from you the second you got back with a hunk of metal being the only thing keeping you alive.”

“Ah…I’m pretty sure that the first thing you tried to do was getting me to a hospital and I insisted on a cheeseburger.” She tried for a laugh.

“And I should have insisted harder. First aid for someone that has been held in a cave for three months?”

“Pepper…I’m twenty three years old, I have been heading SI for the last two years and I have been contributing in R&D for the last decade. I would have been a lot more pissed if you hadn’t respected my decisions.”

The PA was without words for only a couple of seconds, “What kind of decisions were you really able to rationally make after being kidnapped by terrorists? There is a reason lawyers ask if the person is in possession of their mental faculties and doing anything in the middle of a PTSD episode is basically disregarded.”

“I hardly have PTSD.” Toni did have PTSD but not because of Afghanistan…ironically as it is.

“Are you a psychiatrist to know that? Shutting down the weapons division should have never gone through, it was just you using every loophole imaginable.” It was stances like those that Pepper and everybody else had a taste of how deeply Toni knows every detail pertaining her position and SI’s legalities.

That made Toni’s eye go wide, “Wow, slow down! We are **_not_** reopening the weapons division.”

“I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about that after three months of being a prisoner no one should have taken a word you said as your genuine opinion in normal circumstances. It’s like people saying things they don’t mean when they are angry. And… and you really know how to change the subject.”

Toni didn’t even have the grace to look apologetic, “It was worth a try.”

“This is what I’m talking about. If you really wanted, I would be out of this room by now and wouldn’t even remember what I was saying to you until tomorrow. You are off your game, Toni, and for really good reasons and we weren’t there for you.” Pepper watched as her friend’s shoulders dropped and the inventor took a long deep breath. That is as close as Toni gets to accepting apologies without waving them away, “We will make it up to you.” she promised.

Toni nodded, “The press conference?”

“We can do it another day. I think it’s time people remember that they are forever invading the privacy, dumping their problems and sucking dry a twenty three year old that no matter how smart, is still just human.”

The brunet laughed a little, “Reminding people that I’m a twenty three year old female human when I’m in the weapons manufacturing business is not usually a good idea.”

“Then it’s a good thing that SI no longer produces weapons, isn’t it?”

They smiled at each other, subdued and tired but Pepper sensed that it was a start.

“If you don’t mind, I still want to do the press conference today.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. People deserve to know what is going on. This isn’t gossip, this isn’t who I am dating and what car I bought and if I was seen buying churros in a mall in Chicago wearing my really comfortable UGGs. Two days ago, people’s lives were in danger.”

“I don’t disagree, Toni, you do owe them an explanation but it **_can_** wait.”

“Better if they don’t.”

“I guess we can arrange something for after lunch. J.A.R.V.I.S probably already told you but…”

“I want my pie.”

Pepper smiled and then she remembered, “Oh! You wanted to know what Agent Coulson wanted, right?”

Time to put acting skills into use, Toni carefully feigned disinterest and turned to her own tablet, “Uh, yeah, he said something about Strategic Homeland Intervention…”

“The big name.”

“The big name,” Toni snorted, “what did he want?”

“He just wanted to offer help and you need to admit, Toni, this is…a brand new world. We might need it because I don’t want you putting yourself in danger through improvisation.”

And Toni forced a contemplative expression in her face when all she wanted to do was curse up a storm.

She fell for their sham of a “help” like a brainless moron! Oh, here we are: some organization that a fucking second generation governmental weapons manufacturer never heard about with the perfect excuse for everything and the answer to all your problems and, fuck!

Humming, Toni turned to Pepper with a slight grimace, “It’s just…I think it’s weird.”

“What is?”

“I have never heard of…the big name,” Toni smiled inwardly, “and suddenly they show up, too interested in my escape and offering their help.”

Pepper opened her mouth only to close it again with a worried frown, “I never heard of them either.”

Toni tried to control her breathing because her heart was racing like she tried to outrun a car, “And that’s exactly my problem, because… Stranger Danger. They are equipped,” the device to set off a controlled explosion to target only the lock of a reinforced door, “with connections,” sneaking into a party wasn’t anything new but SI has top security so how Coulson got in? “and offered their help just because they are that altruistic?”

“Oh, my God, how didn’t I… we will work this out, Toni, J.A.R.V.I.S already sent the parameters to fine comb SI for anyone that was associated Obadiah and we will be on the lookout for Strategic Homeland…but what do they even want? The Iron Woman tech?”

The billionaire bit her tongue not to crow in triumph but she was nothing if not through, “Sorry, what?”

“Oh, that’s what they are calling you.” Pepper gave her the newspaper from yesterday with a teasing smile.

She has never been nostalgic and wasn’t about to start now but…Mark III in all its glory made her smile a little bit even as she thought about all the updates she needed to get done… just thinking about the huge and very impractical assembling process made her weep a little over the time it took.

“Uh,” for old time’s sake, “not really accurate, it’s a gold-titanium alloy. But catchy.”

“Of course,” the redhead deadpanned, “but Coulson will be here in thirty minutes, I’m sorry, Toni, but I was out of my depth, usually I would just have PR batch something out but…”

“Don’t worry about that, Pep. In fact… I have a plan, just call the conference, stay close to Rhodey and Happy, update them but don’t approach Coulson, leave him to me.”

Toni was used to Rhodey’s almost inhuman poker face but Happy and Pepper weren’t exactly good at bluffing.

Her friend stared back in concern, “Are you sure? We don’t even know this man…I was so naïve.”

“You didn’t know what to do in a situation that we never encountered, I’m pretty sure you get pass.”

“But you know what to do.” Pepper pointed out.

“Just after sleeping on it.”

“Care to share?”

“Let him help us. Make your friends rich and your enemies rich…in time you’ll find which is which.”

Toni was willing to give him a chance, because everybody deserves a second chance and she honestly didn’t know which side he fell on, she never really cared because she believed him to be a friend. But now it was time to really make sure, just like with everybody else.

“Just give him enough rope to hang himself?” Pepper was clearly confused, she wasn’t used to seeing this side of Toni, the manipulative side. The ruthless businesswoman side.

“No quite but similar enough.”

“Alright, but be careful.”

“I will, I promise.”

_“Miss, Agent Coulson just asked to be allowed in the premises.”_

Pepper squared her shoulder, “Will that be all, Ms. Stark?”

“That will be all, Ms. Potts.”

Pepper sent her one last look before going off to search for Rhodey and Happy to tell that the sweatshirt and comfort food plan will wait a few hours until after the impromptu press conference.

Coulson entered her line of vision and Toni put her best mask on, grateful that she thought to clean up with her usual pencil skirt and formal blouses, her hair in a neat ponytail and makeup already covering the cut. _Showtime_.

“Agent.” She greeted indifferently, still seemly interested in the headlines, _“Who is Iron Woman?”_

“Ms. Stark.”

“I never actually had any preference, sometimes I do prefer “Dr.” but so depressingly few know that I have seven PhDs that why bother with such obscure knowledge, right?” she went off absently-minded as she folded the newspaper and put it back on the table.

“I think Ms. Potts already briefed you but here is your alibi.” He put them on the table nearest to her as Toni finished hiding the cut in her forehead.

Snapping her makeup case close, the billionaire took the cards and did a cursory glance. So far, no changes.

“Ok.”

“You were in your yacht. We have port papers that put you on Avalon all night and sworn statements from fifty of your guests.”

Toni just let it all wash out from her, the ease she felt around Coulson…boy was she an idiot, was gone, but she never felt better prepared for any crap S.H.I.E.L.D might throw at her.

As Toni Stark announced to the world that she was Iron Woman, Toni just took in the safe distance Happy and Rhodey and Pepper put between themselves and Phil Coulson and truly felt the Invincible Iron Woman. She could do this, one step at time.

_“Miss, there is an intruder alert that according to Miss’ description fits Nicholas Fury, current director of S.H.I.E.L.D.”_

“Our acting skills will be tested then.” She smirked.

““I am Iron Woman”.”

And to think that she almost forgot about him.

“You think you’re the only superhero in the world? Ms. Stark, you’ve become part of a bigger universe. You just don’t know it yet.”

“Who the hell are you?” came the bland response.

“Nick Fury, director of S.H.I.E.L.D.”

She hummed.

“I’m here to talk to you about the Avengers Initiative.”

“Yeah…” Toni drawled, already with her hand firmly on a handgun that was out of sight.

~*~

_“Miss, the equipment needed to build the Hadron Collider has been located, we just need a way to discreetly purchase the materials as to not tip our plans to S.H.I.E.L.D or other interested parties and we will be ready to create Starkium. PR and legal are already preparing a statement about the newest SI satellite that will established SI’s net and to be coded with the Starkium formula to track Vibranium outside of Wakanda. Plans will be concluded in late 2009.”_

“Perfect. Phil no longer has Pepper’s trust, Rhodey and Happy are warned against anything S.H.I.E.L.D, separate part of your servers to Happy, as the new head of SI’s security he will be fending S.H.I.E.L.D and other spies off that will increase in number now. Last time I dealt with it myself but it did shift my focus for too long.”

J.A.R.V.I.S’s answer was immediate and delivered in a deadpan, _“No one likes micromanaging, Miss.”_

Toni forced a smile out, “Yeah, I learned that one, too, happy now?”

_“Delighted.”_

“Ugh. Ok, Coulson is done, not that they know that. From what Pepper told me from last time, she maintained a sort of contact with Coulson, mostly what I was doing overseas. I thought it was obvious that I was retrieving and destroying SI tech that never should have gotten there at all, but whatever. That’s no secret so I don’t see why I can’t ask Pepper to be honest about it. Their next move is Natashalie but that curriculum of hers should have never passed HR. So Happy is on that as well.”

_“As for turning over CEO position to Ms. Potts?”_

“I love Pep and if I had more time, I would totally be in favor of training her for longer, but she was only ever my PA. CEO was way too much of a leap and while she handled things quite gracefully until 2018, I did have to step in way too often. So what I had in mind: getting her an office position, the board will have to agree but by 2010, SI will be booming with so much money that they won’t be much problem. I’m thinking CCO.”

_“Ms. Potts already does much of what it entails.”_

“Exactly. And… as fun as my Senate hearing was… well, we still have some time for that and War Machine.”

Toni kicked her high heels off and untied her long, straight hair.

Next in the to-do list: Bruce.

_“How would you like to proceed, Miss?”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chap marked the way I wrote this fic: one chap to lay out the plan and the other we see how Toni executes it, the chapter gets too crammed otherwise. And each chap will have a central focus which will bleed into other issues that may be short, medium or long term plans, yes, I am fully admitting to teasing you guys. *smiles*
> 
> I also fixed Toni’s relationship with Pepper. I do like Pepper but in many ways (even being a fan of Pepperony), they don’t really work as a couple which is depressing (idk if more or less than Science Bros, because I really love Science Bros even with Bruce’s sleeping session). Anyways, Rhodey and Happy will also have their turn but in the Prologue, I made all three realize that hey, there is a human behind the armor. I think they forgot that.
> 
> A reader commented on it a while back, in my “Working on It” fic if I’m not mistaken, I had already noticed it before but I had yet to work it into a fic: Tony shouldn’t be making any kind of decisions after three months in captivity.
> 
> Now, just because Toni is a genius and is milking the rep of Futurist for all it’s worth doesn’t necessarily mean that all her plans will work out so seamlessly like fending SHIELD’s first contact did. Some will work beautifully, some will have obstacles… but this is BAMF!Tony and OP!Tony and biased as hell as a Team Iron Man fic so…yep.
> 
> Someone commented somewhere (I think it was tumblr) about a fic here that I used to read, “all that’s best of dark and bright” well written but the plot isn’t my cup of tea so I stopped*, anyways, apparently there is an chap about Pepper, won’t give spoilers but a PA going to CEO truly doesn’t make sense. If only for the sheer lack of training. Now, I don’t think that spending the rest of her career that she worked hard to get a degree for, in the PA position (independently of being the CEO’s PA or not) is what Pepper signed up for. So an officer position is within reach after Toni trains her, because I agree: a jump from PA to CEO is… shouldn’t be a thing.
> 
> Unlike Toni that would have been groomed for the position, Pepper went the usual route: high school, college, business school, degree, job hunting.
> 
> *and look at that trolls: no need to badmouth the fic, I just congratulated the author on her skills, because they are skilled, but the plot wasn’t my happy space. 
> 
> Also, please disregard anything business related because… I know nothing of the sort.


	6. Interlude: Keys to the Kingdom

New York

March 16, 2004

.

Virginia Potts smoothed out her skirt and cursed herself for choosing linen. It was so hot and she was already sweating so there was no way she would have been able to handle tailored suits but linen wrinkled like nothing else. Her high heels were killing her but if she sat down it would be goodbye finely ironed skirt and jacket suit.

“Virginia Potts?”

“Yes.” She stood at attention in the pretty sizable waiting area. It was elegant but clearly designed by professionals without a personal touch.

“Dr. Stark will see you now.” The secretary motioned for the double doors that automatically opened to admit her.

Anastasia Antonia Stark was eighteen years old, lost her parents exactly a year and three months ago today. Since then she was emancipated even with Obadiah Stane making sure that the media knew it was over his protests that he should have had her guard.

But all wills found on Howard and Maria Stark’s name were full of legal instructions for when their daughter turned twenty and one and, in the events of their deaths, for their accounts to be turned to her, but nothing about possible guardians. It was relatively easy for her to get the state to consider her a legal adult.

Since then and since, like anywhere else in the world, Stark Industries didn’t want to affiliate themselves with a teenaged girl, Stark decided to go and invest the money left to her to work independently.

Six months later and SI was deeply regretting their “I’m sorry, but you are too young to work on weapons business.” The company was bleeding business everywhere and the knife wounds were all delivered by Carbonell Enterprises that in over a year became quite the name nationally.

Virginia didn’t know what was going behind the curtains but from what she read on the news, Dr. Stark chose to get all her grief and pour herself into work, at least, that’s what it looked like.

“Toni be reasonable, you’re gonna end up ruining everything your father worked so hard to build.”

Virginia didn’t know if she should be here for that, but she **_was_** called up. The high heels against the floor were warning enough, right?

“If it’s that easy for my newly minted company to “ruin” everything my father worked for in over sixty years then he didn’t really work all that hard on it, did he?”

And Virginia was nervous enough to read the world into it. Stark didn’t really sound harsh but tired and perhaps even a little sad but angry too. Perhaps because she was still a teenager that lost her parents and that was cornered and really conflicted between doing what it would be good for the company her father started and what would be good for her sense of self… and Virginia really needed to stop reading so much romance novels late at night.

At the end of the corridor there was another set of double doors to which she knocked, thankful that the discussion tapered enough for her to pretend that she didn’t hear anything and for the two occupants in the room to pretend that they believed her.

“Come in.”

The man was a little heavy set, bald and his blue eyes were really, really angry and cold. Virginia honestly didn’t know how Stark could handle that stare. Turning to the girl, Virginia understood how. Stark’s eyes were just as cold. They weren’t angry or even annoyed, they were cold.

“Toni, I’m on your side here.” Was the man’s, Obadiah Stane, Virginia’s mind supplied, parting words.

“I know, Obie.”

They waited until his footsteps were no longer audible for Stark to turn to her, “Virginia Potts… you had a perfect set of interviews, good curriculum and a perfect score in our assessment tests… and I also see here that you corrected an error on one of the files and pepper sprayed my bodyguard because you thought the files were real.”

And it was all the redhead could do as to not to groan in embarrassment. The assessment test was to see how the candidates would fill out simple paperwork. NDAs were signed and that’s what made Virginia think that the documents were legit.

The mistake she spotted was disregarded because, according to the administrator, Toni Stark herself wrote those.

So… Virginia marched into this same hallway and pepper sprayed the suited man guarding the room… where his boss was changing clothes. Stuttering and blushing like mad, Virginia apologized and tried to rectify the situation by complimenting Stark’s shoes.

And that’s why she is here today. Because Virginia was a hundred per cent sure that she was going to get sued and thrown into jail for… so many things. All because she thought that it would look damn good in her resume if she got a business internship at Carbonell Enterprises. An up and coming company led by a woman… that was so ridiculously young and smart.

“What do you think about becoming my personal assistant?”

And now she would get assault charges, she was too young to get assault charges. Barely twenty one! Virginia didn’t even get a chance to… legally get drunk yet…

“What?”

“Ms. Potts, those papers were legit. I just told the examiners they weren’t because I’m still human and I can’t be CEO **_and_** come up with a test for fricking interns, the incompetency of someone in HR forced me to do it… hence the NDAs if anyone tried to be a smartass. Your… bursting into my office actually saved Carbonell Enterprises twelve million dollars.”

“… that’s a lot of money.” Came out really weakly.

“For a single contract, you bet. You didn’t cower because of my personal and business related discussion with Mr. Stane and even after being told that I was the one that personally wrote those questions, you knew a mistake when you saw one and you still pepper sprayed Happy to get to me. I’m not easy to impress, Ms. Potts but you just showed all qualities that I want to be surrounded by. I understand that you have a degree in finances and a position as PA isn’t exactly what you were aiming for but I can promise that by going everywhere I go… you’ll never learn so much.”

It wasn’t until months later that the newly nicknamed Pepper – Toni, she was now Toni sometimes too, decided on it because that pepper spray story just never got old – realized one little thing.

“Toni?”

“Yep?” the Carbonell Enterprises CEO didn’t even look up from her laptop.

“Was that discussion with Obadiah another test for me?”

“Oh, yeah.” When she didn’t answer, Toni raised her head and rolled her eyes a little, “C’mon, you already saw my daily life. The easily disturbed and offended don’t survive. You need tough skin to work so closely with me.”

“Uhum… also… you said that those files were legit… but a friend of mine also tried for a post in CE and she said that there wasn’t any accounting information in her “test”… were you using potential interns to fill out paperwork?”

“Oh, yeah.” The millionaire shrugged.

It was something to be said when all Pepper did was sigh and inwardly think that Toni Stark was an evil genius.

~*~

New York

June 7, 2006

.

Pepper was nervously twisting her hands to avoid chewing on her nails. It was a habit she was trying to break for the past few months with varying results.

A week ago, her boss turned twenty one years old and today was the day that she will officially take Stark Industries’ reigns.

The majority of the shares were already hers and for the last year, Toni has purchased enough to get a definite control at 64% instead of her initial 55%. But holding the majority of the shares didn’t guarantee anyone position of CEO.

“Shouldn’t we wait? I mean… they used your age… and subtly your gender… against you before.”

“Perhaps, but I looked over the company’s guidelines and turns out that I don’t have to consult the board nor get their approval. The CEO can choose their successors without input.”

“… that doesn’t sound legal… or ethical.”

“Don’t worry, they can contest the decision six months after the new CEO is put in position but they can’t just… “we want you out”, they need actual arguments in the nature of numbers and results to oust anyone. Personal relationships have no say in it.”

“More legal and ethical.” Pepper nodded, “still… Stane is CEO now and he may be a… father figure…?”

“Closest thing to an uncle I have.”

“And I think that’s the problem. My dad is in military and despite my lack of interest in following his footsteps I don’t see him happy if I had enlisted at eighteen. They always see us as those little kids that used to ask them to carry us.”

“Probably,” Toni agreed, “but this isn’t about Obadiah. I’m not even doing this because so many people are saying that I can’t, I’m doing this because of what they are **_not_ **saying.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I know that a woman in a weapons manufacturing business is pretty much unprecedented but I want this and I want this to be a milestone. Women are strong, Ms. Potts. Not strong between quotation marks, not metaphorically. We are strong. The end.”

Pepper stayed silent until they were half way to SI’s headquarters.

“Toni…you have no idea how proud I am to call you my friend right now. I’m just afraid of what will happen if we don’t manage to do it, the setbacks that today’s precedents will create.”

Her friend returned her silence before meeting her eyes. Blue against blue.

“I don’t get CEO position and it’ll be like the board made me stand back with my tail between my legs. I get CEO and if in six months I don’t raise SI’s numbers then it’s because I am incompetent.”

“Yes.” Pepper glanced at her, trying to gauge her reaction.

“You know… my father raised me to be a CEO… my mother raised me to be a lady in society.”

“Ok…?”

“But who taught me how to be a female CEO was a woman named Catherine Grant.”

The PA blinked, “The… CEO from CatCo. WorldWide Media?”

“Yes. She visited me the day after I inaugurated Carbonell Enterprises. We kept in touch ever since. I expect that CatCo will truly become worldwide, perhaps not soon, but Cat is determined.”

“And a shark. Her reputation is…” but Pepper was interrupted.

“Mine isn’t all that squeaky clean either. People weren’t thrilled that I was designing bombs at the age of twelve. They weren’t happy that I outshined all the professors in MIT and humiliated them when they tried to snuff me out and they were furious about my romantic relationships… as if any of that was their business in the first place… besides the bomb thing, that one did affect other people.

Cat taught me how to be a woman in business. Never get anrgy at work; there is a learning curve for everything; don’t give up your work for anything or anyone if you feel you can still do it and want to do it; work twice as hard as any man; and be honored when someone calls you a “girl”.”

Blue eyes widened at Toni’s speech, “She… doesn’t…”

“Cat knows how to behave in public... Like I do. That’s all.”

“I have faith in you, Toni. You raised Carbonell Enterprises from the ground up, you can do this.”

“Let’s just see how much my patience is tested with the, “Pulling a Howard” comments. I’m proud of the way my father started SI from zero… but these people are willing to go the distance to annoy me.”

The redhead grimaced. She still, very vividly, remembered how the conservatives compared Carbonell Enterprises’ beginnings with Stark Industries’… and then made snide comments about Toni already starting with money like in Monopoly.

.

2008

.

Two years after Toni became CEO and Pepper watched bursting with pride as Toni cut the ribbon for the newly inaugurated Stark Industries’ headquarters in England. Stark Industries is officially an international name and a multi ** _billion_** dollar company.

.

.

.

*My end notes really are too big, XD*

I explored more of Pepper because in this fic, Toni's ascension in the business world more or less matched Pepper's introduction. Sure, Toni created her own company and Pepper was applying to be an intern, still...

A new version of the Pepper Spray *U*, lol, I had fun with that one;

And exploring a bit about Toni's business experience and the repercussions of being a woman in weapons manufacturing.

But Toni being Toni... she's still a sneaky little b***

A very subtle change: Toni isn’t all that willing to keep silent about “reputations”, as previously seen with Happy (who commented about her brothers) in another chapter.

Also, as per January (2019)... there is three women in the position of CEO as military contractors in US.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry: Cat Grant is quite the influence in Toni's life but she won't have many appearances, but if most of you think I should add, "Mild DC Crossover" tag I will *shrugs*
> 
> I binge watched the first seasons of Supergirl this weekend and I fell in love with Cat Grant all over again. SHE is THE feminist that I can get behind. I'm sorry, it's just... some of them don't want gender equality, they want extreme (emphasis on "extreme") privileges for women while attacking men (*cough* Wanda/Vison *cough*).
> 
> Some of her quotes:
> 
> Kara was upset because Cat called her SuperGIRL instead of SuperWOMAN (not knowing who she was):  
> "What do you think is so bad about girl? I'm a girl, and your boss, and powerful, and rich, and hot, and smart. So if you perceive "Supergirl" as anything less than excellent, isn't the real problem... you?"*
> 
> Supegirl was taking on tasks that she never did before and was kinda botching the whole thing so she tried to defend herself,  
> Kara: "Why do you keep criticizing Supergirl for trying to save the city? When Superman started..."  
> Cat: "He, he, he. Him, him, him. I am so sick of hearing about the Man of Steel. Every woman worth her salt knows that we have to work twice as hard as a man to be thought of as half as good."  
> Kara: "Well, she did rescue that plane."  
> Cat: "Yes, which she ditched, bobbing in a bay. Engineers are working around the clock trying to remove it."  
> Kara: "She saved that tanker from exploding."  
> Cat: "Causing an oil slick, which they're still trying to clean up. Now, I don't like the fishes, but it does reassure me to know that they're still under there swimming about."  
> Kara: "Well, if Supergirl were here, what would you suggest she do?"  
> Cat: "Calm the hell down. She's taking on way too much, way too fast.  
> Kara: "She's trying to save the day."  
> Cat: "By screwing everything up? No, this inexperienced idiot has barely had a run in her tights, and yet there she is at the epicenter of danger. What's next? “I think I'll catch the meteor that's headed straight for the White House?” Oh! Whoopsy. No, no, no. There is a learning curve. You don't just walk through the front door and suddenly own the company. I started out as Perry White's assistant. I worked my ass off until one day I finally had the chance to write an article for the gossip column. Every step of the way, I had to fight, to work hard, to get better, to come out ahead. Now, catching planes and boats on fire, hmm... How about we start small and work our way up?"
> 
> And the beauty is that Cat is constant, two episodes later she wasn't rhapsodizing about Supergirl's newfound competency, she still had the same opinions. Kara (Supergirl's civilian ID) volunteered to babysit her kid but she had work, she had to be Supergirl and she had to babysit as well:  
> Kara: Ms. Grant, I am so, so sorry. Suddenly, I looked up and he was... he was just gone.  
> Cat: I never should have let you take him in the first place.  
> Kara: It was very hard. Really, really very hard. There was work and... and watching Carter and then all this crazy stuff happening around the city. I... I just don't know how you do it, Ms. Grant. I don't understand how you juggle it all.  
> Cat: Oh, you have stumbled upon the most annoying question of the century, and you are so young that you do not even realize it. How do you juggle it all? You learn, that's how. You start with two balls before adding another. I figured out how to be brilliant in business, and then I added being a brilliant mother. Far too many women burn out trying to do too much before they're ready.  
> Kara: So you can have it all?  
> Cat: Of course. Just not all at once, and not right away. And not with that hair. Use conditioner, for god's sake.
> 
> Cat Grant is right up there with Rhodey, Okoye and Wong in my respect levels for secondary characters, actually (aside from IW... RIP MCU!Rhodey), they should just be main characters and be done with it. She has personality, wisdom, she can be a bitch but still one of the good guys... unapologetically female. THAT's a strong female character that I worship the hell out of.
> 
> ... also... Supergirl premiered in 2015... and Cat Grant basically said with all the words everything that was wrong with the Avengers and that Rhodey also... used to think...


	7. Green is the New Black: Planning Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... I'm trying to numb myself for Endgame... that I will wach on the 25th... it's... halfway working *sweats a little*
> 
> Anyways, if Tony dies... I won't get out of bed for the whole weekened;
> 
> If Steve dies... I will call MCU lazy to high heavens... so convinient, he can't answer for all his screw ups and people can't say anything bad about him because he died trying to save the world... BLERGH.
> 
> I know that the dusted characters will return... Spider Man Far From Home, after all, but when/if Wanda returns and resumes her happily ever after witj Vision... which will prolly happen because... there is a tv series Scarlet Witch and Vision... I will throw up.
> 
> And the "pause" in the middle of the movie so we can stretch our legs was fake... and my bladder will not be thankful.
> 
> But wth right? MCU already took my heart... my brain died over the twists they make on themselves so Steve is always right, Wanda/Vision (and to a lesser extent Natasha/Bruce and Sharon/Steve) and Wanda and Bucky being on the same team made me drink as I wrote ["Examples to Follow"](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15312630) and ["... Is My Friend"](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17467001) so that's my liver... what's one more organ? At least it's not another vital one.
> 
> Oh, and when Endgame is out, updates will slow down because my heartbeat will slow down, for now I'm updating so fast because I'm anxious, plain and simple.

May 4, 2008.

.

Ross was already in Brazil which means that Culver will happen in six days.

“In a month, Bruce will be in Canada, trying to control his transformations and no longer trying to get rid of the Hulk, uh, until the suicide attempt.” Toni said the last part to herself in a whisper.

_“The change of heart is indeed a factor to be considered. Miss stated that until after before Harlem, Dr. Banner has been trying to find ways to no longer turn into the Hulk, completely curing him of Gama radiation.”_

Toni stared into the distance, “…the guilty of manipulating all these people is going to hit me **_so_** hard.”

_“Miss needs to focus on the big picture: half of the universe is at stake.”_

“And the Hulk is one hell of a player.” Toni wasn’t agreeing but she was disagreeing either.

_“In time, Miss will learn how to trust again.”_

“Will I?” She was almost mocking now, “I should be able to trust at least Rhodey.”

_“And you will… once he’s actually a part of this.”_

“Once he is War Machine…then he needs to know what he is getting into. Information on a need to know basis.”

Toni looked at all the open files, the mess in her office and the screen, showing her now famous interview.

“Ok. I agree about Rhodey. But bad friend or not, I still care about Bruce… and I don’t want to treat him like a chess piece.”

 _“What could we reasonably do, right now?”_ J.A.R.V.I.S asked, simultaneous as if making a point and genuinely curious.

“Avoiding becoming a splatter on the pavement and having zero explanation of our presence there? Not much. Even if we interfere, people will ask how we knew anything and… Ross knows how to cover his dirty tracks. Uh, actually, considering the lack of proof anywhere, we **_can_** pass up our presence there as mere coincidence. Is there any reason, any at all, that we can justify our presence in Culver?”

_“Not in six days, Ma’am.”_

Toni bit her lip, “Ok, options. Offering to give a lecture… too much of a stretch?”

_“Even if we can dodge the questions, Iron Woman’s presence so physically close can alter the events.”_

“Crap, Bruce has no reason to think that I’m not **_with_** the military, shutting the weapons division probably won’t make to his radar. He would have other priorities since the… Gama explosion. And even if it did, it’s not nearly enough reason for him to take a shot in the dark and not dump me with the same people that are shooting at him. Vacation in Virginia?”

_“Perhaps vacation in Florida will be less conspicuous for Toni Stark.”_

“Still too close?”

_“Verily so, Miss.”_

Toni huffed, “The Hulk can take care of himself. And for now… if I could explain the Bleeding Edge tech… I wouldn’t become road kill in a fight between two Gama Enhanceds but the current Mark III can’t withstand that kind of battle let alone Mark II. At the same time that I can still help in other ways, I just don’t want to leave it to chance for the people in Culver and Harlem. And that’s also what weights on Bruce’s conscience.”

_“Evacuating the civilians can be delegated to someone more neutral, someone that doesn’t raise as many flags and whose activities are not so closely followed by paparazzi.”_

“Like who?”

_“Perhaps to War Machine?”_

Toni’s eyebrows rose, “But he is still military… ** _and_** he has a very public connection to me and for people to still believe he is unbiased towards me he can’t just… take the suit for a test drive.”

_“Yes, but time and time again Colonel Rhodes has proven to be professional, if not impartial, even when it comes to you, Miss. Afghanistan proved so. Colonel Rhodes bent and pushed every rule in the book, called every single favor and now owes quite a few, never stopping looking and never giving up on you, but he never disobeyed orders, broken any laws nor was disrespectful or insubordinate.”_

“… get PR on that.”

_“Miss?”_

“That’s the kind of thing that can move mountains and set up out future MO. We will never claim to be completely impartial, but we can promise and deliver to follow the law.” Despite the somewhat cold treatment, Toni’s eyes were shining in suppressed emotion.

_“So Mr. Rogers won’t have a leg to stand on, it will be a long since established framework.”_

She rolled her eyes but, “Multitasking, Jay.” Toni admitted, “still, how am I going to explain this to him?”

_“If Miss wishes, this also can be an opportunity, to not only talk about the possibility of War Machine but to explain Miss’ knowledge about the event.”_

“…you’re devious.”

_“I was raised by the best, Miss.”_

Toni groaned as she got into a comfortable Black Sabbath tee and jeans and made a bun with her own hair.

“Ok… Rhodey deserves to know if he agrees with the whole War Machine thing, but we are leaving Pepper and Happy out of it. They are civilians.”

_“Not exactly in Mr. Hogan’s case, Miss.”_

“You know what kind of ‘civilian’ I’m talking about, Jay. Last time, Happy ended in the hospital, almost dead. His job is corporate safety not… aliens and fire-breathing craziness. Besides,” she grimaced, “their poker face is horrible. It was half of the problem with Pepper as CEO last time. A few years later and she got a **_lot_** better, but for now…and Happy never had the need for a poker face, I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

_“Very well, Miss.”_

  “…still feeling the judgment, Jay.”

_“I believe it was Miss that stated that she needs help.”_

“…I can ask if they want to know, what about that? Last time, Pepper wasn’t…I don’t know how Pepper feels about Iron Woman… she wasn’t happy when I was Iron Woman… but she wasn’t happy when I decided to step back. And Happy calls the whole thing “going off with the Super-Friends”… and I really can’t disagree when he said that the “world is getting weird”…and I feel bad that Happy…body guarding Iron Woman. I will ask if they want to know.”

_“…better.”_

“Slave driver. Fine!” she threw her hands a little, “How are we going to explain **_his_** presence there?”

_“If I may be so bold, Colonel Rhodes is a lot more discreet than Miss.”_

Meaning that Rhodey knew how to keep his presence a secret, “…offense taken and what else?”

_“Aside from evacuating civilians, to help Dr. Banner at all, we would need an investigation and proof that a crime was committed as well.”_

Toni hummed, “How are we on Jessica Jones?”

_“Ms. Jones is in the process of opening her own detective agency, the license has yet to be request and from Miss’ reports, it will only be 2015 for her name to have the necessary qualifications to catch SI’s attention.”_

As if **_that_** would stop her, “Association with SI is something that we want to avoid actually. But for now she can be the perfect person to discreetly find some information and she is a lot more durable than most for what we need. What about Jennifer Walters?”

_“Ms. Walters is currently in law school and will be taking the bar exam in a year’s time, 2009.”_

 “Let me know the second Jones gets her detective license and after Natashalie’s stunt, I guess we didn’t clean house as we should have had. Vetoing and background check gets us to Jennifer Walters. She can’t personally help her cousin, but we would be idiots not try to get her on SI’s payroll.”

_“I believe Miss is already doing everything that is within reasonable distance so there is no need to feel guilty about taking action only when there would be actual results.”_

Toni gave a half smile, “Fine, bent my arm. Keep surveillance on Bruce, we need to move before S.H.I.E.L.D begin to stalk him but after Bruce decides to live with the Hulk. Get Rhodey, Happy and Pepper… I can’t say everything without putting them in danger, but I can be honest about a problem that is about to be solved anyway, that being the palladium.”

_“Good to know that Miss is prioritizing honesty with the few that earned it.”_

“Wow, biting!”

_“If I may, why are we focusing so much of our immediate time on Ms. Jones and Ms. Walters? Dr. Banner won’t be able to benefit from it for months.”_

“We are laying the groundwork,” she leaned back in her workshop chair, “we are doing what we can for now because everything else is a waiting game unless we delve into some grey moral areas.” She trailed off.

_“Miss?”_

“Remember what I said about guilt when we manipulate people? I never cared about that when I knew that the other person would do the same thing to me in a heartbeat, that’s why I have no qualms about S.H.I.E.L.D, Natashalie, Hill, Coulson… Barton to a certain extent…definitely Rogers when he shows up.”

_“If your intentions are good…”_

The inventor rolled her eyes, “That doesn’t always justify it, Jay.”

_“Miss said that for now it is the waiting game, am I right to assume that it means we still have some time before the events come to pass?”_

“Yes. A few years, actually.”

 _“So for now, we can focus on what we can do and revisit the thought at a later date.”_ Toni smiled at her own words.

“How are we on Helen and Maya?” she obliged.

_“Ms. Helen is currently writing her thesis about generating tissue, estimates indicate two more years before it’s finished in 2010 but I am unsure how long until it… inspires her to create the Cradle, no other works on her name for now.”_

“First big solo and Helen comes home with a Grammy.” Toni smirked.

_“Not much unlike Miss’ A.I project for your first PhD.”_

“Exactly.” She smiled smugly.

_“I have also been trying to secure a meeting with Dr. Hansen in a way that wouldn’t tip off any A.I.M employees.”_

That was the expected actually, “No luck?”

_“None. Dr. Hansen is discreet and doesn’t participate in many if any pure social events.”_

“No one in A.I.M will attend an event from Stark Industries, they were a no show in the Stark Expo in 2010 after all and Killian’s motto is discretion even from behind the curtains. Still, something doesn’t add up. A.I.M still had the credit for the military to turn to them for the War Machine upgrades.”

_“Perhaps it is the discretion that attracted the military?”_

“… was that a veiled critic?”

_“…it wasn’t intentional, Miss.”_

“Ok, try to find any scientific conferences with high enough caliber that someone like Maya would be interested in.”

_“I am looking, Miss. However, the most likely is that we truly won’t be able to secure a meeting with Dr. Hansen without raising suspicion until Dr. Hansen herself approaches us and that won’t happen until…”_

“Until the Mandarin happens. Maya will only move from where she is when she realizes that she hit a wall with A.I.M. And she will only hit a wall with A.I.M when people begin to blow up.”

 _“Unfortunately, yes.”_ J.A.R.V.I.S’ voice was just as grave in regret as she felt.

Toni swallowed, “Keep an eye on the situation. Chad Davis died in early 2012 and I have no idea if he was the first or not **_and_** I have no idea if he is already with A.I.M right now. I **_really_** don’t want to wait for people to blow up for us to have any clue about A.I.M’s movements.”

_“Agreed, Miss. However, what else can we do? Simulations on possible scenarios have come up with nothing.”_

“If Davis died in 2012 and Maya looked for me in 2013, it means that in a year, Maya realized that there is a roadblock.”

_“That is assuming that Sargent Davis is the first test subject to go critical.”_

“We know that he isn’t,” Toni rolled her eyes, “Killian’s drastic change in appearance and basically shrugging off his disabilities should have tipped me off, but, getting an early version of Extremis is suicide, I don’t know if I’m impressed or shocked at the man’s guts to play explosive Russian roulette. But I don’t know if the explosions were after Davis’ accidents or actual fanatics? Where is Davis right now?”

_“Military personnel is more difficult to tag, their files are often encrypted. Miss’ updates will be more than appreciated once installed.”_

“Yes, Jay, I get the hint. But still, my updates will only be at their max capacity once our new satellites are in orbit, your processing abilities and reach will increase exponentially and never stop. You’ll have room to grow.” She got distracted at the thought.

_“And I thank you, Miss, however, I cannot help but feel… limited in my capacity to ensure your safety and help you as well.”_

The billionaire sighed, “Yes, I know. In a way, Friday had to grow up a lot faster but she had the space to do so.”

_“Miss?”_

Toni hesitantly made eye contact, “Once you have outgrown the walls…if you ever want a body, Helen Cho can help with that.”

_“I… will consider it. A body will give me more range to proactively help you. Yet, I feel fear at that possibility. I do not wish to leave you should the Vision reappear.”_

“I wouldn’t be too worried about that, Jay. Vision was the fusion between you and the Mind Stone, without the Mind Stone, there will only ever be you.”

But just like Toni, J.A.R.V.I.S wasn’t all that reassured, _“But we want to secure the Mind Stone.”_

“We will need some way to cleanse Ultron out of it. We will need Thor.” The inventor groaned at the thought.

J.A.R.V.I.S allowed his creator to have a few seconds before softly reminding her, _“About Sargent Davis?”_

“…you’ll be ready to access anything anywhere by the end of the year, besides, we need to prepare for S.H.I.E.L.D. For now, I will personally hack what you can’t.”

_“Very well. So for now, Dr. Hansen and, therefore, Extremis, are being postponed until the end of the year when the updates will be integrated and we broad our search. New satellites will be in orbit by 2012 at the latest estimation which will maximize our reach.”_

“Correct.”

As if on cue, _“Colonel Rhodes is asking to be allowed in the workshop.”_

That confused her, “He has access keys.”

_“After recent developments, I took the liberty to reboot all access codes.”_

“…a little overkill, but still reasonable…I guess.”

_“And may I suggest that in the future, Miss chooses a material that is more resistant than glass for doors?”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Recently Kizmet (amazing author) brought an analysis of Pepper Potts that I never noticed, [here](https://archiveofourown.org/comments/221981755). Pepper's character seems to deal better with the whole super hero business when she is an informed bystander that can actually help even if it puts her in danger. But not when people don't say anything to her and she gets in danger (IM2).
> 
> Now Happy?  
> This is from IM3:  
> "Let me tell you something. Do you know what happened when I told everyone I was Iron Man's bodyguard? They would laugh in my face. I had to leave while I still had a shred of dignity."  
> "Yeah, I miss you, too. But the way it used to be. Now you're off with the super-friends. I don't know what's going on with you, anymore. The world's getting weird."
> 
> So I'm extrapolating... because I really love Happy *U*
> 
> I respect Rhodey in IM2 as much as I respect Logan when he killed Jean to save the world. They had personal investment (best friend/woman he was in love with) but they still could do what was best for most... sure MCU kinda slaughtered Rhodey in IW, still... Also, I love Tony with all my heart but the guy is NO field leader, he has exact zero experience or training for that (being the boss in a business or scientific setting is not the same as being the leader in a battlefield). I don't count Leipzig for either (Tony or Rogers) because that was a mess. Everybody just did their own thing with very little cooperation even among allies.
> 
> Helen, Maya, Jennifer and Jessica will have HUGE parts in the fic *winks*
> 
> Toni will get hit harder and harder as she manipulates people she actually likes or respects... but... half of the universe... this is one of the VEEEEERY few occasions that the phrase "greater good" doesn't make think of the fricking mob.


	8. Interlude: Silver is the New Black

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... AHHHHH!
> 
> Endgame day!
> 
> I'm having a pre-cry over here T^T
> 
> ~*~  
> Next chapter: May, 05

 

May 4, 2008.

.

“Toni, I…” Rhodey stopped at seeing his best friend eating salad – SALAD! – and idly playing with some files in the holoscreen in front of her.

She washed, slept – although there were still some dark circles beneath her eyes – she was eating… healthily at that and wearing clean clothes and from the huge texts in front of her, Toni wasn’t tinkering away for days on no end and passing out after her body couldn’t take it anymore.

This was…a level of…something, of the likes Rhodey hasn’t seen… ever. Not even back at MIT, although something was telling him that it wasn’t exactly MIT that induced the ‘work until you pass out’ MO into Toni.

“Hey, Rhodey!” the scientist pushed the holoscreens out of the way but didn’t try to hide them.

“Uh…you ok?”

“Yep, is that…?” she eyed the bundle of fabric folded in his arm.

“Your blanket of an MIT hoodie.” Rhodey rolled his eyes, fondly exasperated.

Opening the hoodie, the huge dark red fabric that would fit Toni and three more people and went to below her knees and Toni wasn’t exactly a short woman with her 5’10 feet so she couldn’t really dispute the “blanket” tidbit.

“Yay!” she made grabby hands and promptly put it over her Black Sabbath tee, purring away at the softness.

“So… uh,” Rhodey pulled the only other chair and awkwardly sat down, “I need to apologize.”

They haven’t been uncomfortable in each other’s presence since they first met. Well, the only one that was uncomfortable was Rhodey, back then and, he was willing to bet, right now too.

“What for?” Toni asked distantly as she rubbed her arms to fully appreciate the very much missed hoodie.

And Rhodey didn’t know that he could feel even worse.

“You pissed me off,” oh, great, Rhodey knew that Toni’s propensity to blurt out whatever came first to mind would be rubbing off on him at some point, “please let me backtrack that.”

Toni was eyeing him strangely and already half-way to the hurt Bambi eyes. _Oh, God_ , “Ok?”

Rhodey tried to figure out where to begin, “the beginning” was quite a while ago but he needed Toni to hear this. J.A.R.V.I.S saying that Toni was crying while he was demanding her presence for some ridiculous press conference had to be right there as an example of “Bad Friend” in the dictionary.

“You were fourteen when we met in MIT and everybody was thinking that you were someone’s little sister or some teacher’s daughter, and then you would open your mouth and show up everyone in the room, the professor included. Which, of course, means that you didn’t have any friends.

And then we were forced together because it was college so of course there were team projects. And it’s not that I never thought you were annoying but I guess it never affected me like it did some of the other students. And…once the techno babble that I could barely understand stopped, you were…just a girl.

You were clearly without much, if any, parenting supervision and living by yourself in some fancy penthouse near campus and honestly? I couldn’t help but think like a big brother. To this day I have no idea what your parents were thinking, a fourteen year old girl living by herself while going to college in a different state?”

“I…you do remember that I went to boarding school when I was seven, right?” Toni hesitantly reminded him, not sure where any of this was going.

She was expecting the apology when Pepper asked for forgiveness but the start of it was very off.

“Please don’t remind me, the idea of boarding school has some academic merit but otherwise, I just don’t see how… not the point.”

“The point being…” the billionaire prompted.

“The point is that I forgot all of that. We have been friends for almost ten years and I forgot that before being CEO and primary weapons manufacturing to the U.S. you are still just a girl. And no, I don’t mean your age,” Rhodey rolled his eyes, predicting what she was going to argue, “I mean that there isn’t a worse friend than me for buying the emotionless show you put for the public.

I was worried about you, about your physical and mental health for every second since you went missing until you announced that you were closing SI’s weapons division and then I just got pissed. I’m military and U.S. has had the best of the best tech because of SI for almost seventy years and you came and just decided to leave us cold turkey and I…was worried about what that would mean for my position as a liaison and a newly promoted Colonel and that was horrible and it…none of it should have made me stop worrying about **_you_**.

I wasn’t the one that was held captivity for three months by terrorists, instead I was the one that got all irate because my friend was trying to figure out how her weapons were used against her and in the meantime she didn’t want even more out there.”

“Instead you’re just the guy that spent three months looking for your friend.” Toni immediately countered, softly but still forceful.

“…J.A.R.V.I.S tattled on me, didn’t he?”

Toni laughed at his deadpan and both were ignoring the way she was suppressing her tears.

“Bottom line, Toni. I’m sorry. I’m sorry for being such an awful friend when you needed me.”

“An awful friend wouldn’t have done everything you did to find me.”

“The fight is not over just because one side was declared winner, Toni. The aftermath is also part of it.”

Toni teased, “So you are beating yourself up because you didn’t stay for cleanup.”

“I know that you’re only joking but it’s this kind of crap that makes Pepper look at you like you might need hot cocoa and an actual blanket.”

“Fine, no more self-depreciative jokes.”

“Can you actually keep that promise?”

“I will try my hardest?”

“Good as we will get, I guess.”

Toni smiled, “Perhaps you were a bad friend but I was a bad friend too. I know that SI arms a considerable percentage of the military and I pulled my support without even a warning to anyone that I would do something so drastic. Just like SI arms a considerable percentage of the military, a considerable percentage of profit came from it. I let down a lot of people that, one way or another, I answer to at the end of the day.

It was worse with you because we have both: professional and personal relationship. So I’m sorry too.”

“Earn each other’s forgiveness?” the colonel suggested.

“I could have sworn that you were going to say, ‘So, we good?’ right there.”

“We are not good yet, Toni.”

Despite the emphasis Rhodey gave to, ‘yet’, Toni let the smile slip from her face.

Rhodey looked at her worriedly, “What?”

“… when I revealed that I was Iron Woman,” _the first and this time_ , “I knew that the government would want that kind of tech for their own.”

“It is a reasonable prediction, I guess. So?”

“So that Iron Woman is a one-off. And I will keep the weapons division closed. I will re-negotiate the military contracts and I will not be laying off anyone in SI but the armor’s tech is off limits to anyone. SI or the military.”

“…you want to make private use of a tank in human shape?”

Toni wasn’t quite sure about the emotion behind Rhodey’s black eyes but she nodded.

“Toni, you’re my best friend and I’m trying like hell to make amends but I **_can’t_** support this kind of decision in a legal setting. What you are trying to do, clean up SI’s mess so directly…is already a grey area as it is. Morally, I don’t think there will be many people saying that you shouldn’t and overwhelming public support can go a long way, and I know that you have more than enough know-how and experience to do it without incurring some international incident. But the matter of the fact is that you’ll still be… piloting a flying tank. A civilian going into international combat situations with an unregistered… super weapon and unaffiliated with any governmental body.”

“Then help me,” Toni was thinking fast, almost frantically but this was perfect, this was more than she could hope for, “help me make this a thing. Legally, morally…if there is anyone that would be tasked with it, it’s you.”

Rhodey got whiplash at that, “I… tasked with what?”

“With making a report on Iron Woman. You saw most of what the armor is capable of and you know me. What is your bottom line?”

Rhodey gawked at her but the more he thought about it, the more he couldn’t help but agree that his own superiors and quite a few politicians would be the kind of dicks to use him against her. And, to be honest, he was the only one in the position to be used against her.

The colonel sighed, “Ok, disregarding your… less than charming personality traits,” he ignored the offended, ‘Hey!’, “I’d say that…Iron Woman can be a huge asset. And… uh…I guess I would have to see more of Iron Woman in action but…I already told you my main concern: the fact that you are unaffiliated with any governmental body.

Toni… it’s not only how you don’t answer to anyone but yourself and I don’t mean in the sense of lack of morals, I know why you’re doing this. But in the sense of no one can tell if you did something unavoidable or something wrong. Your PR is second to none and your analytical mind is also second to none but it will come a time that you’ll make a mistake and without anyone official there to say otherwise it’ll only be you and your people being completely innocent and the hero of the day, or the crowds after your blood. To use a more military term, you are out of the reservation, Toni.

Yes, it means more freedom to do your thing, but if you crash and burn, it’ll be a spectacular fire and you’ll be bringing a lot of people down with you.”

“Middle ground then.” Came the shockingly calm reply.

The colonel was confused at the accepting attitude but horse gift and all, this was too important for him to be picky about it.

“Yes, I guess that’s my bottom line.” And now Rhodey was the one to carefully take in her expression.

It was… conflicted. And Rhodey could understand that. For years, long before assuming CEO position, Toni truly believed that she was protecting America and her interests. And then, that was no longer the case.

Toni put aside her own interest in robotics to keep doing what would shut up the board and keep the investors happy. SI was a titan, employing so many people all over the world that Rhodey got a headache every time he thought about being responsible for so many people. Weapons kept the business not only alive but, perhaps naively, also kept Toni’s belief in her legacy alive.

And now here she was: cleaning up something that she believed to be caused by her negligence and being told that the “how” was still wrong.

“I still need the freedom to move my legs, Rhodey. We are out my depth here because you’re right. I can manipulate crowds and those that I can’t have cheering me on, my PR will mollify but in the end: fire or fans. I guess I like going too far the other way when I’m proved wrong.”

Rhodey frowned at that, “Ok, uh, yes, I will help you and…shutting the weapons division down with zero warning probably gave more than half of your company heart attacks. But a onetime thing doesn’t… necessarily say anything about an ingrained personality flaw.”

And the inventor had to laugh.

Toni’s disappearance tanked SI’s stocks and when Toni found out where her weapons and even fake ones were ending up, she shut down a whole division, making hundreds of thousands of people fear for their jobs.

When the Avengers didn’t listen about what she saw on the other side of the portal, Toni resorted to work on her own strength: tech.

When tech was a bust, she poured all of her resources into the Avengers, sacrificing the Compound – a huge property that could have been the new SI’s headquarters and generating more jobs and opportunities than most of the SI’s board couldn’t even begin to fathom – and her PR and legal teams into creating halos for the team, sacrificing political and international ground to acquit Rogers, Wilson and Barnes and burning favors in U.S. to get Maximoff and Romanoff to stay in the country.

If only Rhodey knew. Well, now is as good time as any.

“Rhodey… I need a favor. Beyond helping me set up an acceptable MO for Iron Woman.”

“What is it?”

“I need you to don your own armor.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The, "I'm just a girl" doesn't really work when the character is flying at the speed of light into space... it's supposed to be a reminder that there is a human inside... much like, "I'm just a little guy from Brooklyn"... when it's not used to ditch responsability;
> 
> Pepper and Rhodey were super worried about Tony until he shut down the weapons division, then it was only all about their careers... although it is a reasonable worry... still not cool.
> 
> When you don't have an official organization backing you, there are only extremes: you are either completely right or completely wrong. How does it look that when you screw up... you review YOURSELF? Kinda iffy but if that's what MCU wants to show...
> 
> Tony Stark isn't known for moderation. When proved wrong, he went VERY far to the other side;
> 
> ~*~
> 
> 1924 - Howard Stark is born;  
> 1940 - Stark Industries is founded;  
> 1944 - Project Rebirth;  
> 1965 - Howard (41) meets Maria (21);  
> 1975 - Howard proposes to Maria  
> ~*~  
> May 29, 1985 – Anastasia Antonia “Toni” Stark is born;  
> December 16, 2002 - Howard (78) and Maria Stark (58) died in what looked like a car accident;  
> March 16, 2004 – Pepper and Toni meet for the first time;  
> June 7, 2006 – Toni (at 21) takes over as SI’s CEO;  
> May 2, 2008 – **Iron Woman** \-- Toni returns from 2018;  
> May 4, 2008 – “I am Iron Woman” Press Conference -- Pepper and Rhodey reconcile and talk to her;


	9. Interlude: Red is the New Black

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will update in May, 15 ;))

 

May 4, 2008.

.

“Excuse me?” Rhodey deadpanned.

“I need you to use the Mark II, the firepower is reduced and it’s not the same alloy so it won’t withstand altitudes that ice begins to form but for what I need, it doesn’t need big guns.”

“The… I… what the… Toni, did you hear a word I just said?”

“… you already are part of a chain of command.” And ok, this was just Toni playing dumb and no one ever really believes that anymore.

Rhodey gritted his teeth not to curse out loud, “That I would have to answer to at the end of the day. Crappy CO and superior aside, Toni, I actually like my job.”

“And I would never ask you to put that in jeopardy.”

But Toni suppressed the desire to bit her lip.

She recalled how Rhodey put himself out there to defend her independent and solo use of the Armor Tech, only for her to pilot one while drunk.

Before Toni was backed into a corner with no way out and goaded Rhodey into taking one of her armors, Rhodey put his neck out for her. Yet, actually asking him to take it would incur questions that would inevitably end up with the palladium poisoning and, needless to say, Toni wasn’t at a hundred percent to actually make many long-term plans and multiple step manipulation game with her friends. And she was too much of a coward to say upfront what was going on with her.

Pissing off her friends to the point that they didn’t **_want_** to find out was the easier choice… and yes, the cowardly choice. But Toni never thought of herself as emotionally stable.

Rhodey took a deep breath before changing strategy, “Why do you want me to use one?”

“…how much do you know about Thaddeus Ross?”

“The lieutenant general? Not much, he is Army and I’m Air Force, so… gossip threads that I never really pay much attention to. He has impressive track record but for the past decade or so, he has been more involved in the scientific division. Last I heard, also from gossip, he was eyeing a political career once he retired from the military.”

And Toni had to grimace. Because explaining why she needed Rhodey to use a Power Armor meant that she would have to explain the threat ahead, and then she would have to explain how she knew about said threat.

While it wasn’t fair to use innocent bystander’s safety as a reason to drag Rhodey into this kind of life… when he enlisted, Rhodey knew the risks, but… 2012 changed the risks.

“Rhodey… you saw what happened two days ago with Obadiah. Would even be willing to put on the armor?”

And the colonel paused at that. He had been in thirty combat missions and in most, if not all of them, at some point flying through enemy lines, Rhodey honestly thought he wouldn’t make it back.

And yet he never saw something like what happened two days before.

A human tank. Missiles, flares, maneuvering like no plane would ever be able to, the kind of propulsion and weapons that looked more sci-fi than even movies manage to create.

“Yes, I would. Perhaps not as your sidekick to destroy your own property,” he good naturedly rolled his eyes at Toni, “but to stop people like Obadiah, then yes. I didn’t enlist to get a degree that would never see use or because it was a quick way to get a living, Toni. I enlisted because I believed in the cause and until that is no longer the case, I will serve to the best of my abilities.”

Toni smiled at him, truly proud to have James Rhodes as her friend, “Then I need you to keep an open mind.”

“About…?”

“About time travel.” She bit the bullet.

~*~

In that first day back to 2008, Toni relayed every scrap of information her eidetic memory could recall to J.A.R.V.I.S. Every sound, every word and every action, from news to personally experienced.

Sometimes completely out of order, to which J.A.R.V.I.S – blessed soul – organized chronologically later to facilitate their plans.

And now with Rhodey, she counted on J.A.R.V.I.S to tell the story in a way that… well… a human would understand… humanoid. She mentally corrected, having met her fair share of other sentient life forms.

Toni told everything, from 2008 back then and the now, where her only regret was that she didn’t come back earlier to try and save Ho Yinsen. But that, at least, she thought that this was a man that died in peace. Toni never met someone like him before or since.

And then 2010, the Senate hearing, and Rhodey’s report, and Stern and Hammer and Vanko and Natashalie from the Red Room and then S.H.I.E.L.D and the palladium poisoning and making Pepper CEO and making Rhodey get the armor when Toni thought that this was it for her, S.H.I.E.L.D isolating and manipulating and using her with Natashalie’s report.

2011 and Thor coming, how S.H.I.E.L.D was still there, pulling strings and hiring snipers to take out people they don’t like. About Loki and the little she heard about his history of Frost Giants and Odin from Thor.

2012 and aliens pouring out of the sky. Captain America, the Hulk, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Iron Woman and Thor coming together in a disaster of a team, whether it was a stupid plan, lack of option or HYDRA within S.H.I.E.L.D was pretty much irrelevant after the fact.

2013 and Killian, the Mandarin, Extremis, Maya Hansen, almost losing Happy and Pepper. And also about that kid, that helped her when no one could or would, Harley Keener and how Toni was amused and a little scared that the kid would grow up to be like her.

2014 and the Data Dump, how no one called her but Toni still tried to help the burned agents that, just like her, have no idea if they just believed S.H.I.E.L.D’s motto of end justifies the means or if they were HYDRA, but deciding to risk it because no one deserves the consequences of being caught deep undercover by the likes of the Russians or North Koreans.

And Ultron in 2015. How she still doesn’t know what exactly went wrong, if it was her, the Scepter, HYDRA, Loki or something else because Vision came out fine. About the Maximoff twins and Vision. And the vision that has been terrorizing her since 2012, the aliens will come with their leader this time and Toni has no idea how to protect Earth. About Johannesburg and how Natashalie’s final knife buried in Bruce’s back made him leave.

2016 and she left it all with J.A.R.V.I.S because Toni just couldn’t speak anymore. How after Lagos, Ross, who landed Secretary of State, presented the Accords and Toni not realizing that this was the first anyone in the Avengers heard of it sans Vision, Rhodey and Toni herself. And then Bucharest and burning her political capital to help those idiots and Berlin and Leipzig where Rhodey was paralyzed from the waist down due to friendly fire. And Siberia…

And 2017, trying to mentor the Spider kid and feeling more and more like Howard and 2018…

Thanos came…and snapped his fingers.

Exhausted, Toni chugged down a whole bottle of water as Rhodey kept staring at her.

“This,” Rhodey cleared his throat, “will hit harder later, but…starting from the fact that I believe you, there are some things that I need to ask.”

Toni smiled at the notepad in Rhodey’s hand, somewhere and somehow, Rhodey took writing it all down to consult later as a copping mechanism. Toni called it his diary, Rhodey just retorted that her own mental health would improve if she did the same. The billionaire still thought that it is the cutest thing in the world how Rhodey took a new situation like a student took a lecture. Pen and notepad and all.

“Anything.”

The colonel glanced at his notes, “Ok… from the beginning. I won’t even touch the whole… Sorcerer Supreme thing since I wouldn’t even know where to start.”

“I wouldn’t know how to answer either.”

“Putting our attention to stuff we can at least understand then.”

“Agreed.” Having come to a similar conclusion a few hours previously, Toni saw nothing better.

“First of all: I’m sorry about Yinsen, Toni.”

The young woman could feel the small smile vanishing, “I am too.”

Rhodey waited for a few seconds, giving his friend a little bit of time, “And I’m sorry about Obadiah, I don’t think I said that yet.”

For this one, Toni took a few more seconds before repeating, “I am too.”

A different kind of pain, but cutting nonetheless.

“I guess that the details will only take too much time and wouldn’t even be important in like… years from now.”

“Two years, that’s when it really kick-starts.”

The airman nodded, resolute, “I guess that for now, my only question is ‘why you’?”

“I have to assume that Strange saw that the one alternative was…”

“No, not the saving half of the universe part. That is headache that I won’t tackle until I sleep this whole day off and take some leave. I meant why **_you_** had to get so involved with… everything. You didn’t need to do PR, legal work, finance the… Avengers, save those agents that honestly? Should have known better than to affiliate themselves with S.H.I.E.L.D at all. **_Not_** sue that Russian chick to hell and back because for some reason the guy that threatened you and put you on house arrest is a friend? Or friendly? And I am trying like hell **_not_** to think of Rogers or else I will never stop screaming.”

“I waited, ok?” Toni finally snapped, “I waited for them, for anyone to call me **_and ask for help_** because otherwise I would basically be going in blind not knowing what would help and what would hinder the extractions that I incorrectly assumed were taking place.

For all that Natashalie keeps grinding the ego play, they sure don’t bow when it’s clear that they are in over their head. I waited and all it got were hundreds of innocent people dead. I didn’t do all that in 2014 for the agents, Rhodey, I did it for their families that, very often, didn’t even know what their spouses, parents, or second cousin thrice removed did for a living.

Ultron wasn’t going anywhere even long before the Mind Stone. There is a reason Bruce and I scrapped the project. Turns out I can code life but I can’t code morals and the desire to help humanity. So, I focused on the Avengers that also weren’t going anywhere.

I would have given up my career as a scientist and turned to culinary if the next invasion had something as ridiculous as a bottleneck attack. We were just lucky, plain and simple. I knew that the Avengers needed to be more than half a dozen people trying to contain an army that was coming from a fucking pipette and the only reason we even manage to win was because of an unsanctioned nuclear missile launch that was aiming at Manhattan as a whole.

I was desperate and without alternatives. And then time passed, and I thought that perhaps it **_was_** only in my head, I began to plan my life, Rhodey. I was thirty-three and… beginning to think about… what normal life would be like. And then Purple Homer Simpson’s entourage knock on our door and all my fears are proven right.”

“… the only things you can make right in a kitchen are Italian and German dishes, so you’d probably go, ironically, hungry.”

Toni scoffed but there was a small smile on her face that made Rhodey go on, “You wanted **_to_** help, and other people let innocents die before asking for you. You wanted help and no one would listen. And I understand all that, Toni…but you got a second chance and you can count on me for all of that. You don’t need the Avengers, but you do need help because no one would be able, should handle all of this on their own. That’s what I wanted to make sure.”

“I know…that’s why I asked for your help right now and that’s why I’m admitting to needing it at all in the first place.”

“Which in turn only makes me think that you were replaced by a pod person… or aliens.”

Toni was almost speechless, but she still answered almost immediately, “Hey…I’m not that bad.”

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t you just admit to cleaning SI from top to bottom personally and by yourself because you were paranoid after Stane and then rescuing those S.H.I.E.L.D victims from the Data Dump by your lonesome too? Oh, PR and legal barely seeing the Avengers personally because you were always the one delivering the messages? Whatever happened to emails?” if it was in any other situation, the fact that Rhodey was leafing through his notes would make Toni laugh.

“And then getting involved in the mess in Lagos and Bucharest when you barely knew what was going on? I mean, you said that you only found out about the Bucky-lead that turned out to be Rumlow almost three months later and Bucharest? I don’t know how… future-me reacted, but right here and now, I couldn’t be more pissed that you found some legal loophole to excuse those idiots from manslaughter and millions in property damage… assaulting officers of the law in a foreign country after a highway chase that…there is no… there shouldn’t be a way out of **_that_**.

I understand that you saw the need of the Avengers, to stop the next invasion, but knowing everything you know now, every… all sacrifices you were forced to make, what is your conclusion?”

“…we still need something like the Avengers, a group of people with extraordinaire abilities to protect the planet we all call home. But it doesn’t need to be those people.”

“It **_can’t_** be those people.” The colonel corrected, “The world also needs to be worth saving and according to **_those_** people, the only world worth being heroes in, is a world with no laws, governed by a half dozen people that think that they know better than more than a hundred countries put together.”

“I know and I agree.” Toni answered softly.

Rhodey took a deep breath and glanced at his notes tiredly before meeting Toni’s eyes, “From your attitude I think you already had long reached that conclusion but I… needed to hear it from you.”

“You needed to see that we were on the same page.”

He nodded, “Ok. Where do you want War Machine?” Rhodey smiled at the name.

Both squared their shoulders and Rhodey wasn’t used to that part of Toni’s. The part that already faced battle and war. That put her cost-benefit and risk analyzing mind and into winning fights.

“In 2011, Bruce will hit rock bottom, he will be in the Artic and he will try to end it all with a pistol. The issuing transformation into the Hulk will shift the ice and a few months later, S.H.I.E.L.D will find Rogers.

I don’t want to risk civilian safety in Culver and Harlem, but if we get involved and bring Bruce in earlier…”

“Rogers won’t be found yet… honestly, is that such a bad thing?” Rhodey raised a skeptic eyebrow.

“I don’t know, but I’m trying to balance it out. We start to change everything, and we won’t know what will happen next. That’s why I’m not personally going to Culver and Harlem because that can change Ross’ plans, Bruce’s plans. That’s why I asked Pepper to “friendly” let Coulson in the know depending on his questions, so Natashalie will try her show in SI.”

“You want to let Banner get so low to the point of…”

“That’s why I need your help. Risk and benefit, Rhodey. I’m Bruce’s friend and I want to help. If it was just up to me, Rogers is not worth Bruce’s suicide attempt but I’m too close to decide anything and you don’t personally know any of these people aside from second hand information that you never let stop you before, so what do you think?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Toni is getting a lot off her chest. Ranting is a conffirmed way to let off steam, we just feel better afterwards.
> 
> It is something to be said that no one ever... express condolences. Not just to Tony, but in MCU in general. We don't see anyone feeling for Tony being betrayed left and right, about his parents, about Wanda/Ultron (roll eyes). But we also don't see the same with Bruce, Rogers, Romanoff, Thor (aside from Rocket of all people), it's as if feelings exist for convinience sake.
> 
> Also... no one ever says why Ultron stalled, why Bruce and Tony scrapped the project and never picked it up again only for Tony to think that the Scepter was the answer... why? Why to all of it. Why did the project stalled and why did Tony think that the Scepter was the answer? Thanks, MCU, I would be more willing to forgive that if it wasn't for the fact that the movie is literally called "Age of Ultron". One would think that Ultron's origins would be an important enough point to explore.
> 
> When I was writing about Toni finding Bruce earlier, I wanted to incorporte the tie-in comic: That scene in Avengers 2012 that Bruce was telling the Avengers about his suicide attemp, the tie-in comic further explored that. Apparently Bruce was in the Arctic when that happened. The ensuing transformation shiftened the ice enough for Steve to be visible and rescued.
> 
> Toni knows that because of future knowledge (not to worry, everything will be explained... some time, lol) but she really doesn't want Bruce reach that point.
> 
> Just aknowledging source material... *shrugs*


	10. Green is the New Black: Planning Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I posted earlier 'cause I have a test this friday and I need to study, so no time to revise the chapter in a timely manner. Since I prefer to post it earlier than later...
> 
> But chapter 11 will be up in May, 25.

.

May 4, 2008.

.

“Can I at least sleep on it?” Rhodey rubbed his throbbing temples.

Toni opened her mouth, hesitant, “Uh… The battle at Culver, with all those kids in danger… including Ross’ own daughter… May, 10. So… if you could get back at me before then, it would be awesome.”

“… you did not tell me that.” Rhodey glared at her.

That annoyed Toni, “Hey, the whole thing takes place basically while I am having a massive existential crisis, ok? For literally everything else? 2010. For Bruce? Six days. I’m making it up as I go because we literally don’t have time for “the” perfect, multilayered plan.”

“Fine, I can compartmentalize. Tomorrow, eight a.m. sharp and Toni, please get some sleep. I know that this thing with Banner is cutting close, but we are still just humans… **_are_** we? Just humans, I mean… in the future?” he wanted to make sure.

Toni averted her eyes, “Sure,” she squeaked out, “humans.”

He deadpanned, “I have the feeling I will be saying that a lot: that was just filled with confidence. I know about S.H.I.E.L.D and I’m all on board for having SI on alert with those bastards, keeping Pepper and Happy out of the loop **_for now_** and separated from this,” he motioned to the three armors in the displays, “and giving just enough information so S.H.I.E.L.D will send some seductress two years from now. But please: tell me before you do stuff, ok?”

The billionaire watched her friend walking up the stairs, “Sure.”

.

May 5, 2008.

.

“Didn’t you tell me to get some sleep?” Toni handed a steaming cup of coffee to Rhodey, who looked like he was run over by an elephant.

“Shut up.”

“Oh, grumpy too, then.”

Not that Toni looked much better from yesterday. She was still sore from the fight with Obadiah, the bruises were yellowing, and it would take more than just one night of good sleep to clear out the purple beneath her eyes.

The colonel groaned, “Everything related to… Banner… yeah, what can we expect?”

“I don’t have the same resources that I will have mere two years from now. J.A.R.V.I.S doesn’t have the same reach, from the little time I set aside to hack the military bases that Ross was spotted in I still have no idea when Blonsky will be injected with Gama radiation, if he isn’t already Abomination.”

Rhodey looked at her, “Hulk… Abomination, what is the big deal there?”

“They can destroy an entire skyscraper with their pinky and I **_wish_** I was exaggerating. But it’s the kind of raw physical strength that you gotta see to really and fully understand.”

“Can the armor take that kinda of punishment?”

“Bleeding Edge, the last armor that I built before time travelling can match medium to high Gama strength, it uses nanotechnology. Each nanite is independently powered by the Arc Reactor, the structure can take a beating from the Hulk and the weapons are powerful enough to knock him out with… a lot of difficult and using a lot of different strategies but even then, if I arm wrestle the Hulk, I would still lose, I don’t think anyone is his physical match in a straight battle of attrition. Mark II and III? No, just no.”

“Nanotech… that can’t be explained. Basically you need War Machine to evac not to face the… Gama people.” Rhodey tried to translate it. And Toni was just impressed how he was taking everything on stride.

“Yes. Even teaming up and if the Hulk takes us as friendly, we would become road-kill, Abomination will probably not even feel the repulsors.”

“What happened last time? I’m assuming we didn’t interfere last time.”

“We didn’t. Social media wasn’t a very strong thing… isn’t, until a couple of years from now when everybody and their grandmother would record the whole thing, post it on Twitter and comment while whatever weird thing is happening in front of them.”

Toni ignored Rhodey’s confused look.

“The worst thing is that SI supplied Ross. I didn’t even know what the weapons requested were for and now that I think about it, who the hell approved of the acquisition?

In other words: Ross is really good at covering his tracks.

He spent five years hunting Bruce down, his division bought from SI and I didn’t even hear about Culver until weeks later and the only reason I knew about Harlem was because the military thought that Gama rage monsters would be enough to get SI to go back to weapons production so they made us a pitch.

The man is good, Rhodey. I don’t know if it’s manipulation, blackmail, threats, a combination of all three, but the matter of the fact is no one ever associated Culver and Harlem negatively with Ross.

He ordered a shooting in the first, with his daughter on the line of fire, and facilitated the second and no one even knew about his connection to the point that, eight years later, the country was calling him a hero, with like… two dozen people knowing that he is not above straight up treason if that means getting ahead and being his distorted version of patriotic.”

“Summarizing…” Rhodey grimaced in sympathy at the rant.

“I don’t know if there were actual victims and **_if_** there is proof that I didn’t find in ten years, that means that there are only hard copies and if they are on paper, that if we are lucky, it means that I won’t be able to hack it… and believe me, I tried.”

“What about S.H.I.E.L.D and their spies? If Ross is involved in something like that, shouldn’t they be interested?”

“Are you kidding? Natasha broke character five minutes after meeting me and if I believe that she is supposedly one of their best, a paranoid bastard like Ross would sniff them out before they ever walked past the door.”

“What do you mean “broke character”?”

“I mean that Natalie Rushman, a 5’2 feet legal aid took Happy down, flipping her legs upwards, hooking her ankle around Happy’s neck, changing gravity center and walking away with, “Sorry”.”

“Ignoring the Happy-part… Natalie Rushman? For Natasha Romanoff?”

The billionaire groaned, “You get why I have some trouble believing S.H.I.E.L.D’s competency, right?”

“Ok, so they **_didn’t have_** to be our enemies, they **_won’t_** be of any help and will only get in the way.”

“Correct.”

“Awesome.” He took a sip from his coffee, “Are you taking care of Ross?”

“Yes, and Rhodey… I don’t want to put you in the position of balancing your loyalty to me and to the military, so… do you want to know **_how_** I’m taking care of Ross?”

“I am **_already_** balancing it and I’m **_already_** ignoring the part where you admitted to having hacked military files **_because_** I can justify it in my head but not to my superiors that Ross has to go and that’s one stance that following the guidelines won’t do. But that’s a case by case not the rule.”

Rhodey did a double take at the scheming smile Toni threw him but the inventor got the conversation back on track, “Ok, so Bruce…?”

“We do nothing and people get hurt and that’s a hard no. Evacuating Culver will be child’s play when next to Harlem, still doable **_but_** ,” he held up a finger, “I’m not going anywhere using some high tech armor that I have no idea how to use.”

“Crash course on the armor, done.”

“Ugh, “crash course”, at least you weren’t expecting me to fight in that thing with one week of training. The armor is hardly user friendly, Tones. Then we help Bruce and bring him to safety. How much longer would it take to find Rogers?”

“I honestly have no idea. I never much cared for any of it. Howard ensured that the Captain America’s shine dimmed pretty fast, even that not exactly being his intention.”

“I will say.” Rhodey rolled his eyes, “Worst case scenario?”

“Uh… he is never found…?” she tried.

“Wow, you really didn’t spare him a thought. I don’t know if that’s healthy or not.”

“I don’t know either,” Toni shrugged, “best case scenario is a couple of months until summer comes and the ice melts assuming he’s somewhere visible but considering that the guy spent seventy years in the freezer, it doesn’t seem likely that he would be somewhere visible just because summer came. And it means that Rogers won’t be a part of the Chitauri Invasion.”

“Did he play some vital role in that one?”

“He… saved civilians being held at gun point by the Chitauri and first and last time I ever saw him coordinating with local law enforcement to create a perimeter.”

Something occurred to him, “I was already War Machine by then. What was I doing during an alien invasion?”

“Mission overseas.” Tony shrugged.

“When will the Chitauri happen?”

“May 4, 2012.”

“Get back to base then. I don’t see why we shouldn’t spare Dr. Banner’s suicide attempt, worse comes to worse, will J.A.R.V.I.S be able to locate Rogers by 2011 or 2012?”

“Yes, the plan is to launch a series of SI satellites a lot earlier, by 2012 we will have completed the grid and I can run calculations based on the Valkyrie’s trajectory to find the crashing site.”

“Great, no reason to… wait, you said that Rogers was found in 2011 to 2012?” Rhodey stopped.

“Thereabouts, yeah.”

“The invasion happened in 2012?”

“Yes.”

Dread was pooling in his stomach, “How long before the invasion he was found and… defrosted?”

“I know that he spent a few weeks on a S.H.I.E.L.D safe house created by Bruce. He lined it with a Vibranium alloy to endure his transformations.”

“Where did Banner even find Vibranium?” that distracted him for a second.

“Excellent question.” Rhodey groaned at Toni’s shrug.

“Ok, so Rogers spent “a couple of weeks” inside some S.H.I.E.L.D safe house and then…”

Toni hummed a little, “Then another S.H.I.E.L.D safe house, an apartment in Brooklyn.”

“And then…?”

“And then… the Chitauri came.”

“So, from the forties to 2012 and then fighting aliens? Did he even get a psych eval?” Rhodey demanded, the newly promoted Lieutenant Colonel in him taking over.

“Alright, before your sympathy for Rogers begins to fight against his actions four years later… and playing the devil’s advocate: I don’t think Rogers, straight-from-the-40’s-Rogers, has the best view on psychiatrists. There were still lobotomies and shock therapy in a daily basis back then to treat what they called shellshock.”

“Perhaps a careful approach is warranted but that’s still no excuse.”

“I’m not trying to excuse him.” Toni assured.

“Of all the… not the problem right now. Do we agree then?”

“Evacuate Culver and Harlem, approach Bruce before S.H.I.E.L.D supposedly finds him and find Rogers ourselves if they don’t in a timely manner.” Toni counted on her fingers with a smirk in her face.

“Back up a little, S.H.I.E.L.D will find Banner?”

“According to Natasha they “never lost him”, how much of that is true is up for debate because even though they did find Bruce pretty fast, S.H.I.E.L.D didn’t have much on Ross on their files, so…”

“Bruce may be a genius on your caliber, Toni, but that doesn’t necessarily translate to him being able to evade an intelligence organization like a military-trained Lieutenant General can.”

But the billionaire was still doubtful, “Doesn’t it? Bruce managed to evade Ross and Ross managed to evade S.H.I.E.L.D but Bruce wouldn’t be able to evade S.H.I.E.L.D?”

“But whoever said that Ross **_was_** able to evade S.H.I.E.L.D? From what you told me, S.H.I.E.L.D was perfectly fine with looking the other way if that furthered their plans.”

Toni immediately understood what Rhodey was trying to say, “If S.H.I.E.L.D knew about Ross and didn’t say anything, they were probably counting on his persecution of the Hulk to make Bruce more pliable to accept their help into clearing his name.

The reasons for Bruce going into the run were still all there. He didn’t have full control of his transformations, he didn’t want Culver and Harlem to go to court because he knew that there was a very good chance that his testimony would land Betty Ross’s father in jail. S.H.I.E.L.D could offer a third option: Ross out of jail and off his back.

But that still doesn’t explain the lack of data on Ross, S.H.I.E.L.D kept the original coroner’s report on my parents’ hit and they knew the destruction that this little info could cause. So what’s going on?”

“Much like Ross’ dirty, perhaps S.H.I.E.L.D’s data on Ross is also on paper.” Rhodey speculated.

“How? S.H.I.E.L.D had digitalized data on my parents’ deaths but didn’t have any on Ross?”

Rhodey sighed at that, “So S.H.I.E.L.D is just stupid. Damn it. The dumb jock will give us problems.”

“Still, we need to approach Bruce keeping in mind that S.H.I.E.L.D **_could_** be lurking.”

“Yes, yeah, not underestimate them but at this point I think we are overestimating them by a large margin.”

Toni could only shrug at that.

“Are you sure that they will get in the way of retrieving your brothers? I still can’t believe we are talking about them like the possibility of seeing them out and about is real.”

“It **_is_** real and I don’t know because by the time I found a cure for Arno, Thanos came and… yeah. But I’m not willing to risk Arno and Greg because I thought little of S.H.I.E.L.D.”

Rhodey nodded, “If it’s to keep things like they happened before so we know what to expect then if S.H.I.E.L.D doesn’t find Rogers, we will have to and it has to be before the Chitauri.”

“Yes… I know that with you there, there wouldn’t be a need for Captain America, but that doesn’t mean that War Machine **_can’t_** be there, after all… stage name or not, Colonel still beats Captain.” The billionaire smiled.

“Toni, you’re wearing your scheming face for the second time in the same day and it’s giving me flashbacks to MIT, **_what_** are you planning?”

“Nothing that you can’t refuse when it comes.”

“Oh, that’s reassuring.” He got up to get more coffee but before getting out of Toni’s workshop, Rhodey turned to her, “By the way, you should really tell Pepper and Happy about the palladium, you didn’t fix that yet, did you?”

“Uh… no… and I should also mention that if you wear the armor, even if just once, then it means that you will be officially compromised and not a very good candidate to make that report on Iron Woman… and I really want that report to happen for several reasons, so how comfortable do you feel about not saying anything about this to your superiors?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> S. H.I. E. L. D had data on the Starks murder because I don't believe for a second that Peggy Carter didn't know that it was no accident, but no talks about Ross after 2014's Info Dump... the only explanation I managed to come up with is that they're stupid.
> 
> An Agents of S. H.I. E. L. D episode has Skye staying in a safe house built by Bruce... lined with Vibranium... does anyone have an explanation for that one?? I'm not gonna explore that in my fic 'cause try as I might... I got nada on how in the world Bruce got his hands on Vibranium.


	11. Green is the New Black: Execution Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, next month I will be really swamped with life, next chapter will be up in June, 5 but chapter 13 will take a while to be revised and posted, sorry T^T

 

May 6, 2008.

.

“Dying?!”

Toni’s eyes were a little wide but she was on equal ground… **_this_** time.

“I’m not dying…yet.”

“Toni.” Pepper stopped short of ruining her bun, but it was clear she wanted to pull her own hair out.

They were watching Rhodey train with the Mark II when Toni blurted out about the palladium poisoning that technically was going on right now.

“The Arc Reactor, the core is palladium and the neutrons bombarding the circuit walls that allow the energy to be generated leaks into the bloodstream.” Toni explained.

“Heavy metal poisoning… but you knew the design, eidetic memory after all, to not only build it, but improve it… you knew that this would happen.” Pepper sent her a dismayed look.

“Well, at the time I was kinda lacking in options…” it came out half sarcastically and half softly.

“Ok, what is the plan, then?” Happy joined the conversation.

“A… semi-retreat for now. We need to get our ducks in a roll. Between shutting the weapons division, expanding SI, Iron Woman and… the long name organization, the palladium is…”

“This is will be a long month.”

Toni grimaced towards Happy, “Try ‘year’… perhaps ‘year ** _s_** ’. And… I will need help.”

The silence stretched and while Toni wanted to feel insulted at the incredulous looks thrown her way… she really doesn’t have any right, really. But she has admitted to needing help several times in the last two days, not that Pepper and Happy knew about it, still…

“Alright, what can we do?” Pepper squared her shoulder, StarkPad in hand, the first generation.

“I have been doing the job of three people since I took over… CEO, R&D and PR for SI.”

“So many acronyms.” Happy joked lightly.

“So you’re saying that…” Pepper trailed off.

“Time to spring the big bros.” her tone was flippant enough which did nothing to lessen the monumental task she just revealed.

Anyone else would only stare back in confusion but these two? They, plus Rhodey, were there for the ending, including how Howard tried his damnest to cover it all until the day he drew his last breath.

“Because you need help to man SI and Iron Woman?” Pepper squeaked out, very out of character from Toni’s usually unflappable PA.

“Of course not.” Toni wouldn’t risk her brothers just because she couldn’t take it, “I think I found a cure, that’s why, one stone and all.”

Happy took in a shuddering breath, “Boss, you know… I know how much you care for them, but Gregory Stark’s fame isn’t…”

“Mine isn’t either.” Toni didn’t snap but it was close.

Happy held up his hand in a placating gesture, “From an outsider’s view, Boss.”

“I know but Gregory is not a sociopath… in the clinical sense of the word.” She completed. And in her head, Toni had to admit that Arno wasn’t all that far behind Gregory in that department, he was just more discreet.

As if on cue, Rhodey crashed again right then.

“Ok, the heavy metal poisoning?” Pepper took out her StarkPhone to begin take notes.

“Won’t be a problem once I change the core.”

“And when will that be?” the PA insisted.

“… soon.”

“When?”

“If everything works out, a few months from now, oh! And if Agent Coulson calls, please be honest but discreet and mindful of proprietary intelligence. Don’t mention anything about the Arc Reactor and six months to a year from now start to throw a comment or two about how I’m acting weird.”

Pepper gaped at her, “Do I ask?”

“Just if you truly wish to know. Both of you,” she glanced at Happy, “what will happen in the next couple of years will be dangerous and complicated and messy and you don’t **_need_** to know yet but I’ll tell if you want to.”

“… “Yet”?” Happy asked.

“There will come a time that you’ll have to know.” The inventor admitted.

The PA did a double take at the bland deliver but still nodded.

“I think I got flying down.” Rhodey called out.

“Ok, how long do you want to stay on that before moving to the offensive?” Toni pressed the mic’s button. Ugh, buttons.

“J.A.R.V.I.S told me about how you tested this thing, Toni, so for the rest of the day minimum and we don’t **_need_** the offensive setting yet.”

“It pays off to be prepared.”

“… can’t really argue with that. Ok, fine.” And the Colonel ignored the bright smile his friend sent his way.

“And Happy, you are the new head of SI’s security, coordinating, leading, you call it. With the transition from weapons to tech and Obadiah… he couldn’t have done everything he did by himself, so we will be cleaning SI from top to bottom.”

“W-what about you, Boss? Just because you have some armor doesn’t mean that you are not in danger.” The former boxer protested.

“I know. But right now, I need a friend more than a need a bodyguard, Happy. And SI needs a new head of security more than Toni Stark needs a bodyguard.”

Seeing her point, but clearly troubled, Happy still nodded his agreement like Pepper, slower and much more grudgingly.

“Toni, I’m having some problems maneuvering in this thing.” Rhodey was adjusting the flight stabilizers in his hands but no matter what he tried, whenever he moved from the completely upright position, the armor would career too much to be of any use.

“You have to use both hands simultaneously to maneuver, just like in aircraft… time to put your aeronautical engineering degree to use.” She finished with a teasing smile.

Rhodey’s attempt to flip her off sent him to the ground.

Pepper suppressed her laughter but Happy and Toni didn’t offer the same grace.

~*~

.

May 10, 2008.

.

“I got Morita to cover us for Culver. He will get everybody outside and then you take over.”

“Uh, you’re not half bad at mission control, Tones.” The colonel commented.

“… thanks…?”

“Ok, I see them. Say thanks to your friend for me.”

The billionaire shrugged, “Meh, we are used to asking each other really weird favors.”

The unmistakable sound of the Hulk’s roar got through even second handed.

“Toni… my god.” Rhodey didn’t even know what to say, how to describe what he was seeing.

“Yeah. Wait until Harlem. That’s when you’ll see why I didn’t even consider trying to get into the fight.”

“The students and the staff are safe and I barely had to use the armor. We’re good for now.”

Toni leaned back and opened a package of blueberries, “Well, then good job. You want to come back or wait for Harlem?”

“I’d rather wait to ensure Harlem’s population’s safety but approaching Banner… I don’t think the guy will be comfortable around uniforms right now.”

“Agreed.”

And Toni just watched as Rhodey swiftly and professionally steered the civilians away from the two behemoths.

In 2012 when meeting Bruce Banner and learning his background, Toni would question how no one knows the kind of crap Ross pulled.

Five years doing shady things all over the globe and not a peep.

The internet is basically one massive way to find any and all kind of information, there is no hiding **_anything_** “forever” anymore.

Sure, fake news left and right and no one knew what to **_believe_** anymore. But Ross was squeaky clean and who manages that?

And yet watching the fight from Rhodey’s HUD and Toni realized something: 2008 was the beginning of smartphones, touchscreen and fingerprint locks being accessible to the public.

Who carried around an actual camera back in 2003? Or 2008? Almost no one.

Sure, Ross stalked Bruce around the globe until 2012 and the dick knew how to cover even his digitalized tracks.

Toni was too busy masterminding SI’s transition from weapons to tech and cleaning up SI’s mess but now? Ross better watch it.

Bruce was a “fight to run” kind of guy. Even with personal matters. In a move that would be taken as cowardly by many, the physicist didn’t want to be the one to put Ross away and break Betty’s heart if he were to take a stand.

A huge jackass or not, the man was still her father and the only family she has left.

Toni didn’t have such compulsions.

“Sorry, Dr. Ross, but your feelings are not more important than my friend. Jay?”

_“Yes, Miss?”_

“Open new file: Thaddeus Ross. No matter how I see it, the guy has no further use. We may not be able to land him behind bars since he technically didn’t do anything illegal… as far as we know or “yet” but like hell he will just walk around like this.”

~*~

The mission was painfully simple compared to some of the situations Rhodey faced in Air Force.

Evacuate everybody as the firefight goes on.

Yes, debris the size of cars keep flying around and their punches and kicks were so powerful that airwaves shattered windows. To his deep disappointment, Thaddeus Ross turned out to be just as bad as Toni described it.

Toni tended to color and play stuff up or down and Rhodey acted on the knowledge provided but kept an open mind… so much for that.

The madman opened fire in a university in the middle of the day! Who the hell does that?

The armor finally saw use and Rhodey had to use every trick he learned with the flight patterns and repulsors. He ignored Toni’s curses as he tried to shield the civilians.

As Hulk also tried to protect the civilians.

In the end, he watched from a hidden corner as the Hulk took off with Betty Ross.

Time to get to Harlem.

“Thanks for the assist.” He waved goodbye to Morita as he flew to the nearest police station.

A quick stop in a few precints and Rhodey convinced the officers to evacuate and give the population the excuse of gas leak without giving too many details… including who exactly he is.

“Now what?” he opened the link.

Toni massaged her neck, “Now we wait and hope that it will be enough.”

“We did what we could. And besides, we interfere any more than this and our advantage goes out of the window.”

“I know.”

Rhodey hesitated, “You got Bruce?”

“I already pinged his location. The rudimentary data analyzing program I installed in your HUD is enough to integrate with the current SI’s satellite, J.A.R.V.I.S already sent the data. In three days, we will be able to locate the Hulk and even Bruce. Much like DNA, he also gives off a specific Gama pattern.” And Toni may or may have not used the algorithm that she saw Bruce creating to track the Tesseract with a few modifications of her own to track Bruce instead.

The colonel frowned, “Hey… uh, we were more worried about the civilians, obviously and as a given and Banner because of S.H.I.E.L.D, but what about Blonsky? The guy was crushed.”

Toni froze… Blonsky wasn’t Abomination yet, “I think they are injecting him right now. I was an idiot! I always thought that the Abomination played a part in Culver’s destruction. I never imagined that Ross would open such a heavy fire in a university! Damn it!” she punched her armrest and threw her earpiece across the workshop.

J.A.R.V.I.S linked the coms to the speakers.

“Toni, the guy did some impressive stuff out there. Too impressive for a normal human.”

That made her pause, completely confused, “He became Abomination because of Bruce’s blood, but that’s not all that happened. For him to do some of that…”

Rhodey tried, “Do you think they did something to him before…?”

She leaned back in her seat, “It had to be based on something… S.H.I.E.L.D can’t be that much of an idiot… the notes Howard used to create more of the Serum… if the government had a small sample… not enough for another Super Soldier but enough to study… we will need to solve that at another time. For now, let’s focus on Hulk, Blonsky and Ross.”

“Ok, Tones.”

The trust made Toni smile softly even as she was still angry enough to destroy her whole lab, “Thanks, Rhodey. Will you be staying?”

“Not a chance. If Blonsky will be able to fight the Hulk… you were right, we would become road-kill.  How the hell did Ross manage to cover his manhunt for the Hulk?”

“I have no idea. If it **_wasn’t_** Obadiah or his people inside SI… I have plenty to make up for to Bruce. SI once supplied Ross to keep his little thing going.”

“Still don’t see how that’s you fault. You sure than in ten years you’ll build an armor strong enough to go toe to toe with **_them_**?” he couldn’t even imagine something that could beat those people.

But Rhodey could picture the smile in his friend’s face. Smug and thrilled, “Not ten years. If things go smoothly, in less than six years, Rhodey… the future is looking bright.”

_“Miss! This is urgent! General Ross is using S.H.I.E.L.D database to locate Dr. Banner.”_

Her smile was gone, “What?”

She was echoed by Rhodey.

“Toni! Do not move! I will be there in less than half an hour.” She heard the familiar sound of the thrusters going to Mach speed.

“I’m not going anywhere!” She snapped back, “J.A.R.V.I.S, what can you tell me?”

_“I don’t see how but General Ross has access to S.H.I.E.L.D programs to locate Dr. Banner.”_

“How?!”

_“I don’t know, Miss.”_

“No! I don’t know how… how would Ross find Bruce through S.H.I.E.L.D?”

_“During his stay in Brazil, Dr. Banner has been talking through the pseudonym of Mr. Green, his correspondent is Mr. Blue and I have been trying to find the location the last email was sent from but I don’t know if I will be capable of finding it before S.H.I.E.L.D’s program and, therefore, General Ross does.”_

“Why wouldn’t you guys be able to find them before some incompetent as hell, half-assed attempt at intelligence organization can?” Rhodey called out.

Toni slumped in her chair, “Remember how I say that in a few years I would have eyes everywhere thanks to the satellites launched, the grid I will build and the cameras that I can hack?”

“Yes?”

“The satellites will allow me to hack any system in the world, but the cameras are all public, Rhodey. The government and affiliates, FBI, CIA, the military are free game to me even if not for you… but I’m not about the hack some random person’s laptop to see inside their house. Same rule here. But S.H.I.E.L.D and Ross? I don’t think they have the same problem.”

Rhodey exhaled very heavily at that and all three were silent.

“Try… to find this Mr. Blue, who and where he is… and the rest… will have to happen as before.”

This time it was Toni that tried to comfort her friend, “The civilians will be safe and we did what we could.”

Rhodey slowed the thrusters down, “No, Toni, we could do more. We did what we should.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I erased the whole damaged friendships because Palladium Poisoning Secret TM;
> 
> Also: never mind that it’s canon that Rhodey – being Tony’s best friend or not – wouldn’t be able to just “take the armor” and that the armor is just (should be) fit for the user but how exactly did Rhodey just “knew” how to use that thing? Tony let him train with the armor.
> 
> And yes, it is a plot hole that Obadiah knew how to use it even if the first armor is a lot more friendly user than having a fricking HUD installed.
> 
> In the Incredible Hulk 2008, we see Ross using S.H.I.E.L.D program to track Bruce down… after 2014’s Info Dump, we should have seen HUGE issues with Ross (in theory at least) so what gives? A reader commented in another fic (that I’m actually reasonably sure it wasn’t even mine) that perhaps S.H.I.E.L.D was counting on Ross’ persecuting the Hulk into accepting their very dubious “help”… to be explained XP tehee.
> 
> I know that we treat the Incredible Hulk (2008) as... non-canon but it still is and that movie shows us that the government had a sample of the Super Soldier Serum to inject Blonsky with prior to his Abomination phase... srly, what gives? And what is Steve's blood's worth if they had THAT all this time? If it was so easy to get that thing to give to some random soldier then why not when they were recreating the thing? It does give weight to the fact that Bruce might not have known that this was what the project was about: recreating the Serum.
> 
> So we see a little more how Rhodey operates. Trying to balance it all out... and me trying to balance it all out. Eventually, there will be too many plot holes for me to try to fit/explain the whole thing so I'll be have to change it all anyway, but for now I guess I'm doing sort of all right...
> 
> Oh, I slipped a cameo... *U* he will also be explained ;))
> 
> And yeah, I'm teasing about Gregory and Arno like crazy. Anyways, a few months ago I updated myself on Iron Man comics to know what is going and know more about Arno... GEEZ!! The guy is totally Black Mirror meets fricking Hannibal...


	12. Green is the New Black: Execution Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a ton of college work to deliver and/or present, so my next update will be June, 20... don't kill me!!
> 
> Also, it's been conffirmed that a "big Tony Stark secret" will be revealed in Far From Home... *sighs* IDK if I will watch it or not, but a couple of friends are already buying the fricking ticket and apparently they assumed and bought one for me too.
> 
> I am half-way into the 25th chapter and the Muse is working overtime! *fire in the eyes*... and... it took me 23 chapters to get to Iron Man 2... this fic will be SO huge *cries*. I had so much groundwork to do and so much thinking of how to make it all work to set everything for the "future" *winks*, but I hope that it will be worthy it.
> 
> Just a little teaser: Tony (not matter the gender) won't be the only character I will save (smiles)... no worries, no Rogues *lol*.
> 
> Next update will be June, 20, but the next one I will post in June, 25 so it's still within schedule ;))

 

June 14, 2008.

.

Rhodey watched the news reprise Bruce and Blonsky, the Hulk and the Abomination destroy Harlem.

“Did you find this Mr. Blue yet?”

“No, but Ross did: Dr. Samuel Sterns, reported missing by his coworkers in Greyburn College **_just before_** Hulk and Abomination’s brawl, he is or was a cellular biologist, and quite a smart one too.” Toni was working on her armor behind him, the sounds muffled by the soundproof glass.

Rhodey took a few seconds to appreciate the program that allowed sounds to be kept out but voice to go through.

“Did Blonsky…” he trailed off, dreading the answer and not even knowing what exactly his question was.

“I don’t know.”

“When will we have access to S.H.I.E.L.D?” he asked, a little frustrated.

“I’m actually going with the flow. Everything goes as they originally did, in two years, Romanoff will try to infiltrate SI and plant so many bugs that the only difficulty will be deciding which one to choose to hack S.H.I.E.L.D. from. But we are not supposed to know their scope yet.”

 _“Speaking of Ms. Romanova, a camera near Greyburn College spotted her in the vicinity.”_ J.A.R.V.I.S spoke up.

“You have got be kidding me.” Toni put the screwdriver down.

Rhodey frowned in confusion, “What was she even doing there? Is Ross so in with S.H.I.E.L.D that they would be willing to clean up after the guy?”

Toni made a face, “Does she have anything to do with Sterns going missing?”

 _“I do not know yet, Miss. I fear we will only find out once connected to their databases.”_ J.A.R.V.I.S answered.

“Huh.” She turned back to her work.

“Hey, when will you be getting Banner?” Rhodey turned the screen off.

“As soon as I’m finished with this. As advanced as my armor got before I implemented nanotech.” Toni motioned for the half-finished armor. Mark XLVI…

“Enough in case of… what did you call it? Code Green?” Rhodey frowned when his friend shook her head a little.

“No to the first, yes to the second.” She didn’t specify which was which.

“Toni, it’s not that I don’t trust your judgment but after **_seeing_** it…”

She felt the need to defend the Hulk, “Hey, I’ve **_seen_** it many more times than you have.”

“Yeah, **_after_** Banner decided to control the transformations instead of suppressing them.”

“Yes, well. The armor is enough for a quick getaway, not enough in case of a fight, but this,” she gave a fond pat to the arm she was working on, “is a lot faster than even Thor.”

“Good and… Thor… the alien whose people the Norse thought to be gods a thousand years ago… awesome.”

Toni laughed at his deadpan, “That also reminds me that I’m meeting his future… something, first thing in 2009.”

“What?”

“Dr. Jane Foster. They will be… complicated, in 2011. She is, or at least, will be **_the_** name in astrophysics, just got her PhD and she is currently working to prove her thesis about Einstein-Rosen Bridges in New Mexico. Not very well funded but SI is expanding, you know?”

“Of course and astrophysics is just so closely related to anything SI’s done before.”

“Snark! Snark! Snark-Alert!”

Rhodey laughed at her, “Ok, ok. But didn’t you tell me that this guy was more “punch first, ask questions never”?”

“Yes, he is.” Toni cleared her throat, feeling the ghost of fingers closing around it, she was happy that her rant and word-vomit to Rhodey didn’t include that part, even if it was included when she spilled to JARVIS, as the threatening blink of the lights reminded her, “But! He is also the only OG Avenger capable of going up against the Hulk, at least for now. And besides, if he knew everything that the Murder Twins and S.H.I.E.L.D did, I doubt he would be so friendly with them so that’s something we can do.”

The Colonel frowned again, “Explain that part again.”

“Thor is from a warrior culture. Trial by combat, casual destruction of property, absolute monarchs, branding for transgressions… all part of his daily life.”

“Prince Charming.” The Airman drawled.

Toni laughed again, “Ok, but also the Viking type sense of honor. Meaning no sneak attacks, no treason, straight attacks, an unshakeable loyalty…”

The Colonel whistled once he reached the conclusion Toni did, “That’s bound to go well with S.H.I.E.L.D’s… everything.” He turned around, meeting Toni’s eyes with an incredulous stare, “How the hell did **_that_** work last time?”

“I honestly have no idea. My best guess is that S.H.I.E.L.D wasn’t idiotic enough to reveal their shadier side in front of Thor.”

“Not much brains on this one?” was an actual question.

“Actually, Thor is smarter and more observant than people give him credit for,” a pointed look to make Rhodey understand not to treat Thor like some brainless jock, “but he looked at Coulson, Natasha and Clint and classified them as, “shield brothers and sister”, once that was done there was no undoing it.”

A soft beep got Toni’s attention.

“What’s that?” Rhodey turned to one of the monitors.

“That’s my cue. I already derailed Ross, on Coulson’s “command”.” And made sure to buy and demolish his favorite bar but that wasn’t here or there, “and made sure that Blonsky wouldn’t be going anywhere anytime soon from S.H.I.E.L.D. custody. Bruce is now definitely in Bella Coola, British Columbia and out of S.H.I.E.L.D’s radar, for a very slim margin, if I believe in S.H.I.E.L.D, I have exactly twelve days before they get uncomfortably close.”

“I’ll be mission control, then. Also, I thought we already established that S.H.I.E.L.D is filled with idiots.” Rhodey followed Toni and watched as she donned Mark XLV.

“They are, but remember that we are working on the assumption that they are competent. Minimizing possible mistakes, Platypus.”

The airman groaned, “Did **_not_** miss that nickname.”

“Aw! I did!” and she took off.

~*~

“Gotta admit it: the scenery is amazing.” Toni looked around, appreciating the vast fields and the orange leaves at the bottom of a mountain.

Right in the middle of a glade, just passing the small river was the small wooden cabin that Bruce was living in.

Smoke was coming out of the chimney but from what she could see through the window, the small house was empty. Toni had to smile a little at the irony and decided to go all out. Stepping out of the armor, she smoothed out her dress pants and blouse and ignored Rhodey’s exasperated sigh.

Toni Stark, just out of a board meeting, in four inches heels that put her at 6’2, her hair was tied up in the usual elegant ponytail and perfectly made makeup.

The kind of outfit that Pepper called “intimidatingly attractive”. Toni scoffed, when she wasn’t in gala dresses or band tee shirts and jeans, it was what she usually wore instead of some actual power play, no matter what the gossip columns say.

Now, Natasha in a tank top, shawl and a long Indian skirt was **_not_** computing in her head. But for all that Natasha lies like she breathes, that might be her actual style instead of the beginning of her seductress act. What did Toni know?

Not her problem, and hopefully it will never be Bruce’s problem if he doesn’t want it to be.

It occurred to Toni as she waited in the porch, that she was putting too much in a friendship that didn’t even exist yet. In a friendship that she, in a way, already had proof of too little investment from the other side.

Perhaps it was ridiculously pathetic of her but Bruce was the first friend she made that truly understood her. When she would start to speak, Bruce would just understand the meaning behind it, read between the lines.

Rhodey, Pepper and Happy were great and it wasn’t just about the immeasurable IQ. It was the whole thing: intelligence, childhood, science, the hero thing. Bruce understood where she was coming from.

But Toni learned her lesson. She was going to help Bruce because Enhancements or not, Bruce was still the victim and he deserved a fair shot at life. She still thought of herself as his friend, even if he didn’t return the favor.

Speaking of which, he just returned from his jogging.

“It’s good to meet you, Dr. Banner. Your work on antielectron collisions is unparalleled. And I’m a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage-monster.”

She heard Rhodey face-palming but some things are too epic to change.

“Toni Stark.” He muttered, half-way wondering if he was hallucinating.

“Yup.” She waited. But, much like… about seventy percent of their interactions, Toni rendered her fellow genius speechless, “You are probably wondering why I’m here, how I found you or even how I’m not freezing in dress pants and high heels. The answer to that last one is that I **_am_** kinda freezing. So, would you mind inviting me in?”

“I… the… sure, come in.” Bruce mumbled under his breath. Manners beating shock and wariness in this round.

“Thanks!” the billionaire chirped.

 _“Toni.”_ Rhodey groaned in her earpiece.

“W-would you like some tea?”

“… uh…sure, why not?” Toni sat in one of the mismatched chairs and pretended to be busy with her jacket suit for Bruce to put the cup down in the table.

Once the shock wore off, the suspicious was on full force.

“How **_did_** you find me?”

Toni was eyeing the tea with some surprise. Usually she only tolerated the soggy drink but this one was pretty good.

“Uh,” she started, still distracted by the tea, “when Culver happened, I had a friend analyze the data and I pinged your location through my satellite, even as Bruce Banner you give off Gama radiation. Not that I needed it after yesterday when you turned again. I waited a little for you to settle in and here I am.”

Toni looked up with a smile on her face and Bruce was looking back with incredulity.

“I’m sorry, but I’m gonna need more than that.”

“I’m sure you do.”

Bruce looked frustrated and Toni was fighting off a giggle, “Ok, look, even if I believe you. Your… “friend” would need to be close and personal to get that kind of data.”

“Not really, if as Bruce Banner you already give off radiation readings, as the Hulk we wouldn’t need to kiss your nose to get what we need and a few days ago… you had another transformation… but this time the readings were a lot more contained… you triggered it yourself, didn’t you?”

“I don’t know what to address first.”

“Whatever comes to mind first.”

That got her a very small, very fast smile that soon disappeared, “… “Hulk”?”

“Oh, right… well, the media is not very creative. If I’m not mistaken it was some student at Culver that first came up with it. Hey, they called me Iron Woman even if I know that knowing what I have been up to wouldn’t be your first concern.”

Bruce stared right back and without averting his eyes he got his own cup of tea… in all senses, “Anastasia Antonia Stark… Toni Stark graduated _summa cum laude_ in MIT at seventeen years old with majors in electrical engineer and applied physics. But at last count, you have seven PhDs in various STEM fields, dozens of majors in STEM and business and… half a dozen majors in legal, took over Stark Industries at twenty-one. By the age of twenty three, you turned SI into a global name, multibillion dollar company.

In a weapons demonstration, you were kidnapped and held prisoner in Afghanistan. Once back in the States, you shut down SI’s weapons division without so much as ‘by your leave’ sending employees and investors into a panic and a month ago you revealed that you are Iron Woman, quite impressively diverting attention from your old COO, SI’s former CEO, Obadiah Stane who commissioned your assassination in Afghanistan. Since then, you have enrolled to get an international law degree to be able to go internationally with Iron Woman.”

The smile Toni formed was wide and excited, perfectly covering the shock Bruce so expertly threw back. She had no idea that she was already in his radar so long before their S.H.I.E.L.D meeting.

“Well, people like to have in written prove that you know what you’re doing.”

Bruce shrugged and looked out of the window, “Naturally. Just because they work there doesn’t mean that a doctor would know how to run a hospital. Just like an engineer doesn’t necessarily knows how to run an industry, boards and investors would want it on paper.” He looked back at her, “Just like I’m pretty sure that you didn’t have to risk yourself for this.”

“Would you have answered better to Air Force Colonel James Rhodes knocking on your door? He is a lot more polite and straightforward than I am but something tells me that between the two of us, he would have stressed you out first… which is a first for me.”

“That’s your “friend” that got the data at Culver?”

“Yep.”

“He was piloting your armor. So the visors have some way of analyzing radiation.”

“Genius you are.”

Bruce nodded, slowly and still wary, “Why are you here?”

“For many reasons, too many to actually list in one sitting.”

“Try the main one, please.”

Toni pursed her lips and that seemed to startle Bruce. The billionaire wasn’t surprised that Bruce could tell that she was hiding ulterior motives so when the first real emotion crossed her face, Bruce was taken back.

“I didn’t personally see the commission, I didn’t sign any papers and I didn’t even know about it until we started to screen SI with a fine comb. But regardless of the circumstances, it was still my company with my name on it. I am sorry for equipping Ross in those five years you were running. I’m sorry, Dr. Banner.”

And Toni never saw Bruce so shocked. Her fellow scientist seemed completely lost. Like no one has ever apologized to him before. And perhaps that was extreme and perhaps that wasn’t even the real reason, but her dramatic side couldn’t shake the thought away.

“Uh… not to rush you or anything, I totally respect any and all feelings you might be having right now but… people have apologized to you before, right?”

That got her exasperation and Toni was on familiar territory again, “Yes, people have apologized to me before just not about… That’s not what… thank you, Dr. Stark… I accept your apologies.”

Something shifted and for one second, Toni lost all pretenses because until that moment she honestly didn’t know how much she needed to hear that.

Here in front of her, was a man that was victim of her neglect. She didn’t take a closer look, she trusted too much and he was one of those that paid for it.

Toni didn’t know all the other victims, not personally, not by name, certainly not by history and how their lives changed because of Stane and indirectly because of her. But she knows Bruce… and Bruce accepted her amends.

And suddenly she was babbling.

“My friends have been telling me… my lawyer and my PR department, they have all been telling me that it’s not my fault that Obadiah tricked me. That Obadiah and my father were lifelong friends and that… you don’t need to know that part. The matter of the fact is that I trusted the wrong person and that bit me in the ass… and killed a lot of innocent people.”

“I think I would know a bit about that.” He offered a smile, “And, uh, your cannons really sting but I took care of them.”

“Yeah, also, the other reason I’m here is that I want to offer you a job.” She was on a roll now.

“A job?”

“At SI’s R&D, as Bruce Banner the physicist.”

“It’ll be hell on your insurance and I don’t think Ross would take kindly to that.”

“Let my PR handle your image and Ross… not the first time I’ve dealt with an undesirable military liaison.”

Bruce sighed, “Look, Dr. Stark –”

““Toni” is fine.”

“Then “Bruce”… look, Toni, I appreciate what you’re trying to do but you don’t need to do all this just because of…”

“Like you didn’t need to sell patents and donate all of it to rebuild places where the Hulk showed up?”

“… you are surprisingly well informed.”

“This not a whim, Bruce. I thought about this, a lot, more than I probably should have considering how much work I have on SI.”

The physicist stared and he just couldn’t help the skeptical laugher that has been building up since he recognized Toni Stark in his porch, “What exactly are your plans?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hurry up and wait is not for everyone and doesn’t matter how patient you are, there comes a time that you just get frustrated.
> 
> In the comics tie-in, Sterns got some of the Serum accidentally and was turning into "The Leader" a Gamma villlain from the comics, Natasha intefered and he was "transfered" to SHIELD custody... *cough cough* never to be seen again.
> 
> I plan to rub raw the fact that the MCU!OG!Avengers would clash really horribly for reasons tha I want to put a LOT of focus on, because it's important.
> 
> Rhodey is understandably worried about Toni after witnessing the Hulk (and the Abomination) first hand but since she is the one with the information, he is willing to take what she says at face value ('cause honestly, he doesn't have much choice in THIS stance).
> 
> A little mention of Jane (to be explored later) *winks*.
> 
> So I was watching an episode of Grey’s Anatomy and something that Cristina said caught my attention: just because they are doctors, doesn’t mean that they know how to run a hospital. Uhum.
> 
> Wanda Maximoff had all the right in the world to grieve and more. I could even understand irrationally blaming Tony for her loss… but the narrative treating her behavior of finger waving inside Tony’s head as… normal or even right or... never happened (roll eyes) is just plain idiotic and delusional.
> 
> In "Incredible Hulk", we actually see Ross purchasing SI’s weapons and while I have no idea whether Tony knew about it or not, I’m willing to bet “not” (not only because I'm biased but) because MCU basically doesn’t SAY ANYTHING but some random general asking for a weapon to go on a manhunt should be something that Tony couldn’t remain ignorant about.
> 
> In the comics (616), Bruce set up a benefit corporation to administer his patents in order to collect money for victims of his rampages. By Civil War II, he had used it to give 230 million dollars to victims *eyes WIDE*.
> 
> Also, for anyone that is confused, I take the date of release as when the movie ended.
> 
> For example – The Incredible Hulk was released in U.S in June 13, 2008 that is counting the five years Bruce was on the run plus the month after Harlem that he was living in Canada. Meaning that Bruce became the Hulk in 2003 and Harlem happened in May 13, 2008… eleven days after Iron Man was released (May 2, 2008), meaning that the timeline is like this (everything in bold are the movies and the date of release in U.S):
> 
> May 29, 1985 – Anastasia Antonia “Toni” Stark is born;  
> December 16, 2002 - Howard (78) and Maria Stark (58) died in what looked like a car accident;  
> March 16, 2004 – Pepper and Toni meet for the first time;  
> June 7, 2006 – Toni (at 21) takes over as SI’s CEO;  
>  **May 2, 2008 – Iron Woman** – Toni returns from 2018;  
> May 4, 2008 – “I am Iron Woman” Press Conference -- Pepper and Rhodey reconcile and talk to her;  
> May, 13 – Harlem (Hulk vs Abomination);  
>  **June 13, 2008 – The Incredible Hulk** \- Toni meets Ross (buys and then demolishes his favorite bar); Bruce is in Bella Coola, British Columbia and voluntarily triggers the transformation;  
> June 14, 2008 – Toni meets Bruce;


	13. Girl Power: Planning Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finished my final presentation two days early!! Wohoo! So here we are, three days ahead of schedule, lol
> 
> Next chap will be up in June, 25 ;))

June 15, 2008.

.

It was a pain and a half to get Bruce inside her jet and another pain and a half to get him outside of the jet.

Christ! And people call **_her_** stubborn.

Toni still distracted him with talks about science. Basically everything she could say about the Arc Reactor that wasn’t proprietary, not that she thought Bruce would do anything untoward but the board wouldn’t be too happy about it.

“I just can’t picture how it would be sustainable. The cost of materials alone is not practical for entire countries, let alone cities like you want to do.”

Toni had a strange expression on her face. Half-way a smile, half a grimace, “Not really a problem.”

But oh well, Bruce’s face when she started to unbutton her shirt was so worth it. The man turned tomato red, looked around as if looking for a camera or… an escape hatch and then just tried to become one with the seat until noticing the blue glow of the Arc Reactor, until then concealed with a fake skin panel Toni came up with.

Granted, his embarrassment didn’t leave for long, his transfixed eyes and the way he was reaching towards the Arc Reactor… and then realizing that he was basically reaching for her boobs…

Bruce couldn’t meet her eyes for the rest of the trip and Toni was openly smirking at him. Completely at ease and relaxed, her arms spread behind her.

It wasn’t until J.A.R.V.I.S alerted to their landing in Malibu in an hour that Bruce started asking questions again, “How did you miniaturize it?”

“From memory, actually. The incident in Afghanistan had repercussions that the public doesn’t know yet. A bomb exploded not two feet away from me, the shrapnel shards are too close and too small for surgery, certainly too small for surgery in a cave, so the Reactor…”

“Powers a magnet that keeps them away from your heart. Fascinating.”

“Yep. The prototype could generate three gigajoules per second.”

Bruce’s expression was painfully close to Yinsen’s. Amazed and disbelief, like the object he was seeing shouldn’t exist outside of dreams.

“That can run your heart for fifty lifetimes.”

“Or the armor for about fifteen minutes. That was improved of course.”

Bruce turned sharp eyes to her, “That’s how you escaped.”

“Well observed.”

It looked like the nuclear physicist wanted to ask about Afghanistan and Toni was already bracing herself for it but it seemed that Bruce decided to take another route.

“I know that you promised that Ross wouldn’t end up dead…” he ignored her scoff, “but I still need to know. What do you plan on doing?”

“Airing the dirty laundry.”

“People won’t believe it.”

“Let **_me_** take care of it.”

“ ** _How_**?” Bruce was getting tired of being in the dark.

Toni eyed his clenched fists and didn’t answer until his beeping watch slowed down.

“I went through every single word of digitalized data, there was nothing. But it’s impossible to do anything nowadays without a mountain of paperwork and signatures everywhere so if **_I_** can’t get it, it means that there are only paper copies.”

“And how are you planning to get it?”

“A PI.” She shrugged and smirked at his incredulous expression.

“A private investigator?” just to be sure.

“Yep.”

“You’re gonna get them killed.” Bruce accused, more incredulous than angry.

“If she agrees to take it, and no I’m not.”

“Why? Is she bulletproof?” it was meant to be sarcastic, but Bruce was once again exasperated.

“… I have no idea. What I do know is that she can bench press cars and she is also capable of self-sustained flight.”

Rendering Bruce speechless is so easy for her, Toni mused.

“Ok, hypothetically speaking, this woman gets proof and then what?”

“Then I have a lawyer all pretty and lined up.”

“Let me guess, is that lawyer also superhuman?”

“Yes.”

And there goes the jaw dropping again.

“Bulletproof?” and now Bruce was just plain tired.

That gave her pause, Toni wasn’t sure, “I don’t **_think_** so, but the guy’s everything else kinda makes up for it.”

“How do you even know these people?”

“I don’t.”

“Uh?”

“I don’t know them yet.” She clarified.

“… wait, they didn’t agree to anything yet? They don’t even know that you are planning all of **_this_**?” he motioned around.

“No.” she shrugged.

“You have got to be the worst strategist I have ever met.”

She smiled at him, wide and child-like, “Dr. Robert Bruce Banner… I am the best strategist that you’ll ever meet.”

But yeah, the admission made it very difficult to get Bruce out of the jet.

~*~

As they both foresaw it, Bruce was very uncomfortable around Air Force Colonel James Rhodes. It wasn’t even hostility, Rhodey knew hot to handle hostility, military are not for everyone. It was anxiety and fear and wariness and Rhodey could only sigh in resignation.

It wasn’t that Rhodey was unaware that “absolute power corrupts absolutely”. Many times he had to swallow people that he hated because of the good of the mission, because they were his superiors, because they were his COs.

It only made him more determined. That was real life, this was a career, and this was the adult’s world. It was a child’s idea to work with your best friends and have the workplace become a “home away from home”.

And if it’s to be painfully realistic, Rhodey could see why children had this fantasy world where everybody got what they wanted but couldn’t really fathom why some people carried that to their twenties.

Their whole life, they are forced to coexist with people that they would never get along for one reason or the other. Imagining that a few years down the line they would have this dream job, with these dream coworkers, with this dream neighbors and this dream fricking store clerk was just that: dreams.

So no, Rhodey wasn’t disappointed that there was corruption and assholes in his line of work, he would be surprised if that wasn’t the case. He was disgusted that none of his fellow military ever thought that there was something wrong in the situation at all.

“We will fix this, Toni.” He muttered to his best friend as they both watched Bruce settle in one of the guestrooms. Disbelief in every feature as the scientist took in the panoramic view of Malibu’s coastline, the huge bed, the giant bathroom and the walk-in closet.

The change from the homelessness and lack of running water in Bruce’s effort to stay under the radar was overwhelming for the physicist and they decided to leave him to it.

“Will we?” Toni looked tired and what Rhodey could answer to that?

U, DUM-E and Butterfingers chose that moment to burst into the room, beeping inquisitively to the novelty that was a guest in the mansion.

Since time traveling, Toni decided to give the bots more physical freedom, so much to Pepper’s horror and Happy’s exasperation, she let them have free reign over the elevator and to the other floors, including access to the bedrooms.

Bruce was still turning around to see what was making the whirling noises when Butterfingers accidentally bumped into the bedside table, despite the ridiculous amount of room in every direction, and broke the lamp that used to be on it. DUM-E whirled out, unheeding of Toni’s orders not to move and came back with a fire extinguisher that the helper promptly sprayed over the ceramic shards while U hid behind Rhodey, startled at the sudden noise.

Wincing, Rhodey risked a glance towards the newcomer. Not everyone survives the insanity that was to have Toni Stark as a friend and he was surprised to see the look of shock and confusion be quickly replaced by an expression that clearly indicated suppressed laugher.

When the physicist could no longer contain it, Toni and Rhodey joined a little uneasily. It wasn’t that funny to them. As endearing as Toni thinks her bots are – regardless of the fact that she constantly threatens them with community colleges – it was like when a kid destroyed stuff and their parents had to answer for it.

But if it put Bruce at ease, Toni supposed that she could live with the messes that the bots bring about. In the meantime, “There is another room down the hall while the foam isn’t cleaned.” She offered.

~*~

_“Miss?”_

“Yeah?” she didn’t take her eyes off SI’s work but Toni was pretty well known for her multitasking abilities. Or at least, she will be.

 _“Jessica Jones just entered her request for a private detective license. Mr. Murdock_ **and** _Ms. Walters will be taking the bar exam in 2009. On an unrelated note to Dr. Banner, Ms. Helen Cho’s thesis is progressing nicely and projection is still 2011 but that can change to 2010. Dr. Maya Hansen’s Extremis still will be in 2013.”_

Toni took in a deep breath, “We can’t do much about Helen and Maya, ditto with Jessica and the lawyers, what is going on with Jane Foster?”

_“Dr. Foster just got a grant for her thesis and, as per Miss’ accounts, her research will stall in 2009.”_

“Urgh. 2009 will be a nightmare. At least S.H.I.E.L.D won’t be a problem until 2010. As it is, the Stark Grid is being postponed to 2010 anyways, I have too much to do.”

Rhodey was back on active duty, combat mission. But he promised to set up a meeting between Toni and his own General, unlike Ross’ Army, they would be meeting with an Air Force one.

Makes sense after all. They would be talking about Rhodey piloting his own suit, the armor was a little clumsy in ground battles – especially on stairs – and one of their main advantages was their long-distance weapons. Perfect for Air Force. At least until Bleeding Edge, but while Toni had plans to built the armor as fast as she could, no mission until 2012 needed that kind of power and Toni wasn’t one to lay all her cards on the table if there wasn’t a need for it.

 _“How would you like to proceed?”_ J.A.R.V.I.S snapped her attention back to the present.

“The second Jones gets her license we will start. Don’t rush it, alert me to Murdock and Walters’ career choices. If I’m not mistaken, both wanted a PhD, which means academic life until 2013… can’t wait that long, but nothing stops them to part time as they complete it.” She muttered the last part.

_“What can we do?”_

“I don’t know much about Murdock’s personal life but I do know Jennifer’s, if only in Bruce’s offhanded comments about his cousin. I know that the woman is an academic genius too and they would geek out when they were kids. So why **_isn’t_** she fast tracking through the course? Bruce and I did.”

_“And in turn gained a lot of attention from the media as geniuses and child prodigies.”_

Toni made an incredulous face, “She wants to keep a low profile?”

_“Not everyone is made for the spotlights, Miss.”_

“That… doesn’t really match what Bruce told me.”

Toni was trying to get some personal bonding and Bruce’s only comments were about Jennifer and once or twice about Betty. Not exactly what she was aiming for, but she could work with that. One little observation caught her attention thou: “She is as shameless as you.” So what gives?

_“Perhaps the transfusion that turned Ms. Walters into She-Hulk already happened.”_

“… shit.”

Toni’s mind was abuzz with the repercussions.

She-Hulk was nowhere near the Hulk’s level of out of control. If Bruce was the Jekyll to Hulk’s Hyde, She-Hulk was just Jennifer after a few too many tequila shots.

She-Hulk has the guts to do what Jennifer wouldn’t but wanted to.

In many ways, She-Hulk was the perfect girl to be the image of the Enhanced. She was unusual looking, 7’ feet tall and green skinned and green haired. She had full and complete control of her abilities, or at least, she will have, she did when Toni first saw her in action. She didn’t ask for the extra abilities but when she got them, Jennifer trained not to hurt people, she trained to control them, she trained to hone them and she didn’t let that part of her life take over the sum. Jennifer Walters, PhD, was still the kickass lawyer only Murdock could match in the entire eastern coast. She had no secret id to protect but still advocate for those that preferred to keep their lives separated.

And she could also destroy the Hulk’s reputation before Toni’s PR people could build it up in the first place.

Fuck.

“Oh, what did I do?” came out through numb lips.

“Toni?”

And she almost lost her heart through her mouth at the unexpected voice. Turning around and almost tripping over her high heels, Toni was face to face with a confused looking Bruce.

“Morning, Bruce!” she reached an uncomfortable high pitch.

“Morning…?” he went to make toast and tea and Toni sneaked out while trying to hide her panic.

She climbed down the stairs as fast as she could. Toni quickly got her phone and dialed Rhodey’s number.

“C’mon, c’mon, c’mon… pick up.”

_“This is Jim Rhodes. I can’t answer right now but please leave a message.”_

“Oh, crap! Rhodey… I think I made a huge mistake, call me.”

The hand scan never took so long and Toni vowed to update security to the full body scan in the elevator as soon as she could.

“Jay, open files. Since 2003, is there any indicator that Bruce gave blood tran… ok, that was a stupid question, he would never do that. Is there any way that Jennifer Walters could have come into contact with Bruce Banner’s blood?”

_“Searching now, Miss.”_

“Oh, god!” Toni moaned as she threw herself in the nearest couch.

Her inner panic was interrupted by the sound of her cellphone, “Hi, Rhodey?”

_“Toni? What happened?”_

“…uh… I think I made a booboo…?”

_“… what?”_

J.A.R.V.I.S chose that moment to conclude his search, _“There is a possibility that while working in the bottling factory in Brazil, the blood that tipped Dr. Banner’s presence to General Ross also got to Jennifer Walters.”_

“Shit.” Rhodey and Toni said in unison.

_“Ok, Tones, I won’t be back for another month and it will only be for a couple of days before the brass gets me to train next year’s recruits. Can you and J.A.R.V.I.S handle it?”_

“I… will try.”

_“Good, keep me updated.”_

Toni looked around her workshop, “Oh, God.”

_“Miss?”_

“Yeah?”

_“I do not understand why Ms. Walters’s transformation into the She-Hulk was such a high point but now is inducing stress.”_

“She is the perfect PR image.” The inventor complained.

_“… I still do not understand.”_

“She-Hulk is the perfect PR image for the Enhanced. She is like me but without the alcohol and the heavy parties that lasted a week… well… there is the multiple sexual partners but honestly only the conservative parties care an iota about that. And the Hulk is **_not_**.”

 _“If Ms. Walters is already capable of turning into the She-Hulk and we bring her in, Dr. Banner will be under a much heavier and meticulous scrutiny as the out of control, stronger and therefore more dangerous cousin.”_ J.A.R.V.I.S concluded.

Toni closed her eyes as J.A.R.V.I.S put into words what she realized way too late, “Exactly. If She-Hulk makes an appearance before we build Hulk’s image, Bruce will be publicly reviled, after all, if She-Hulk can still be in a courtroom all big and green with a suit jacket, why the Hulk can only talk in the third person? And that’s **_when_** he decides to say anything at all?”

J.A.R.V.I.S was silent for a few minutes, processing his creator’s mood and the new information and reorganizing possible strategies.

_“Perhaps Ms. Walters has other reasons to be discreet. Her connection with Dr. Banner could be used against her by General Ross.”_

The billionaire huffed a laugh, “It’s horrible of me, but we can only hope.”

_“In the meantime, there is no reason to halt Dr. Banner’s new PR team.”_

“Now we just need to wait for Bruce.” She agreed.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And some of the characters now have their initial purposes revealed ;))
> 
> As science progressed, I see no way and no how that the original way She-Hulk came to be to happen here. Jen was in an accident (car accident if memory doesn’t fail) and Bruce donated blood to her… thus: She-Hulk. There is no way, no-how that Bruce would EVER do that nowadays. Oh, I was transformed into an enormous rage-monster because of fricking Gama radiation but I still think it’s a good idea to donate some of my radioactive blood to my cousin. So I have other ways – obvious or not – to have She-Hulk.


	14. Science Club: Interlude Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I will have more free time (yay, vacation) I am THINKING about updating once a week, depends on how much writing I manage to get done, as it is I have until chapter 23 ready and 24 is progressing very nicely.
> 
> Thank you for all the amazing comments!!
> 
> For now, chapter 15 will be up in July, 5.

 

June 29, 2008.

.

Malibu, California.

.

Toni stretched her arms above her head and put an ACDC black tee, jeans and sneakers. Her usual when out of dresses and business clothes. And watched Bruce prepare his tea.

Over the past two days, Bruce set up sort of nicely.

Sort of, mostly because of the nightmares that they were **_both_** concerned would cause a Code Green and the way he would jump when Toni tried to get his attention as if he was lost in his own head.

The billionaire wanted to approach the subject about a therapist, a psych professional at all.

Not to mention that while J.A.R.V.I.S couldn’t conclude much beyond speculations about Jennifer Walters, Toni wanted… they needed to start on his PR ASAP. For now, all three (Toni, Rhodey and J.A.R.V.I.S) were basically ignoring anything Jennifer Walters-related, let sleeping dogs lie. Not a long term solution by any stretch especially because Toni wanted to bring her inside the reservation, so to speak.

“Uh… Bruce?”

“Uh?” he met her eyes at least.

“Kimball wants to talk to you. He is an extremely skilled PR, despite his general unfriendly demeanor. He doesn’t bullshit and gets straight to the point.”

Toni looked at her fellow genius’ expression very carefully. It was resigned and unhappy and that’s honestly not what she wanted.

“Bruce…you don’t have to agree with my plans.” She thought that was obvious but perhaps it wasn’t. Toni knew she could be forceful and run over other people.

“Didn’t you say you’re the best strategist that I will ever meet?” Bruce wasn’t being sarcastic and Toni didn’t flinch at the words but she still took her time answering his mumble.

“Still your life,” she thought that was obvious too, “but yes, I very probably am.” Especially for the next ten years or so.

The physicist took a very deep breath and released it just as slowly, “Toni… you see the problem is that I believe you. As unplanned as your plan is, I believe you and I believe that it’s gonna work and I believe that this is indeed the best course of action and you have no idea how grateful I am for your help because I can’t keep running forever and I am grateful for the opportunity to rebuild my life.”

Toni calmly nodded, “Ok, and what is the problem?”

“Because I believe in you and your plan and the steps you set out and there are **_so_** many steps and so much work to do, years of it before my life resembles any kind of normal, the normal that someone like me can even achieve and… you’re asking me to be you.”

That threw her, “I’m sorry, what?”

“While the legal side takes months and years of paperwork and… I don’t really know any kind of precedents for something… for someone like me so the lawyers you line up will be basically improvising and coming up with strategies out of thin air, believe me, I looked.”

“Yes…” Toni tried to prompt when he went quiet.

Bruce looked just lost, like he did in the past two weeks, “Meanwhile, I will have to be you. I will have to be on a stage with dozens of spotlights blinding me and damaging my optic nerves while a crowd listens to whatever story paints me best that I will probably have to tell myself. I will have to put myself out there, Toni. I will… any life I get won’t be my own anymore.

I mean, I know that you made your college friend, Rhodes, buy you tampons because you were so busy with your final thesis. I know that you were caught in a threesome a few weeks after your parents died. I know that you tried other kinds of relationships in what the media called “trying the waters” and you sued papers for their last cent for the slander and the comments that what you do in your personal life will affect SI and that your favorite color is red… although that last one is not hard to figure out.

The point is: I shouldn’t know this kind of stuff from other people or about other people. You should be the one deciding whether or not that kind of information is worth sharing with your personal circle of friends not with the whole country that would generate a few laughers or a comment or two in gossip between high scholars over junk food.

If we follow your plan, the plan that I also believe in, that will be my life too, out there for the world to see and read about. And Toni… I believe you, I believe when you say that you’re the best strategist that I’ll ever meet **_because_** I know about your entire fricking life and I can read between the lines every time you covered for someone else and still got out smelling like roses. So I believe you, I just don’t know if I can believe **_in_** you.”

As Bruce got all of his concerns out of his chest, Toni got calmer and contemplative. A sudden insight making her wordless.

It’s not that Bruce’s worries never occurred to her it’s just… Toni never thought about that possibility back then, back in the first timeline.

Toni managed to get close to Bruce professionally and socially but never really personally.

But Bruce rarely seemed much surprised by some of the personal comments she would throw in every now and then. Toni was so used to people knowing random things about her… even things that are very exaggerated and outright lies, that she never really thought much about what it means to someone like Bruce or Rhodey or Pepper or Happy that didn’t let gossip cloud their view… that actually never really had much inclination for gossip let alone read about them or participate in them.

Toni always assumed that people took the gossips at face value, gospel. And when the chance presented itself to get to know her personally, they always thought they knew everything there is to know. So if someone seemed to dislike her at point blank, Toni thought she knew the reason… well… reasons. There were plenty all over Google, so many that she often didn’t even know the specific reason why a specific person didn’t like her. Lies and slander exist everywhere after all.

But then there was Bruce, who almost never really seemed surprised by her papers, projects or personal details but still maintained distance and Toni thought, “Google”.

And in a way, she was right. Bruce did know a little too much about her and Toni always thought that he didn’t like what he knew but his outburst here and now presented a what-if situation that Toni didn’t see.

The reason Bruce was always so uncomfortable around her wasn’t because he didn’t like **_what_** he knew, he just didn’t like the fact that he knew anything at all.

Deeply personal details about someone that he never met. And how was anyone supposed to act under those circumstances? Like the secret that everybody knew except the one it is about but much worse. It’s like keeping a secret that it’s not really a secret but pretending that it was. The definition of the elephant in the room but the elephant is never relevant… ever, for any kind of conversation or action taking place.

Right now, Bruce was backed into a corner and he snapped but then Toni played in all in her head. When he fell asleep, how he never seemed to really want to talk about their lives but now keeping in mind how Bruce knew that Toni used to get Rhodey to go the pharmacy to get her pads. But just because Bruce knew about that didn’t mean that he actually knew **_her_**.

The billionaire almost laughed, her shoulders dropped in relief and she could breathe easier.

“Because you don’t know me, Bruce. You don’t trust me because you don’t know me. And I’m sorry, I’m asking for a lot without giving you any reason to put so much stock in it.”

The physicist just looked at the same thankful and incredulous, “You are also giving me a lot… **_a lot_**.”

“Yes, but only in the reality that you trust me, so let me know when the snake finishes eating its own tail.”

That got her a chuckle, “I’m sorry for the…uh…”

“Speech?” she offered.

“Yes, sure, speech is as good word as any.”

Toni gave him a small smile, “Look, the ball is in your court. Just let me know what you decide.”

Bruce sighed and the look on his face was already embarrassed, “I already know but… it’s a lot to ask.”

“I think we already covered that.”

“I still don’t know what you could possibly gain from all this work.”

The billionaire paused a little.

_“If we can’t save the Earth, you can be damn well sure we’ll avenge it.”_

Those words were pretty, a good distraction and even inspiring in a way. But much more than just Avenging with capital A…

“More than getting even with all the people that helped or dealt with Obadiah behind my back… I get justice, we both get justice. The system is faulty and filled with loopholes but although different in nature, Bruce, we are together in this and in unknown territory. So you’re right, my lawyers will wing it as they go, but we are here and we are here first, we are the ones that will set the precedent, so help me draw a map for this.”

The other genius got really solemn at that and after a few seconds, Bruce nodded.

“How do you know this Kimball?”

Toni smiled again, “He has been my PR for the last five years, before I even took over SI. His predecessor trained me to speak in public, to give them a show that they specifically wanted. How to pick the right words for the right crowd. I was four years old when I had to give my first interview and she helped me to milk “cute” for all it’s worth.”

“The circuit board, right?”

The casual reference for something that “he shouldn’t know” made Toni even happier even if she hid her smile, “Yeah. That thing made covers for almost six months in a row and, well, it was good press for SI, so my parents agreed to a few interviews and I couldn’t very well say that I built that thing because I was bored that my game wasn’t uploading fast enough and I wanted the computer to work faster.”

A startled laugher was the response. Bruce quickly sobered up though, “So my request…”

“Yes…?”

“While we wait for the legal work, I want to go over the PR… uh… team, but don’t start anything yet, no interviews, no press releases, no… just no one knowing that I’m even here.”

And Toni was silent and then, “In other words you want to…”

“To have more time to think. To… try and… just think.” A beat and, “and yes, this is me asking for you to spend a huge amount of resources with zero guarantee of my decision. This is me asking for lawyers and PR to build a whole case and not even give a hundred percent of guarantee that said case will be used at all.”

They just stared at each other, Bruce completely uncomfortable and embarrassed and Toni not believing what she just heard.

A little numb but willing to go the extra mile, Toni nodded, “Ok.”

~*~

 _“Miss? I do not believe that was a wise decision”_ were J.A.R.V.I.S’s first words the second Bruce was safely inside the elevator.

“Shush!”

_“Miss, I must insist. The legal and PR department are already overwhelmed with Iron Woman and Stark Industries’ transition to tech, by estimate, Dr. Banner and the Hulk’s case would only ever see use in late 2009. And 2009 will already be a year filled with first steps in a very complicated plan that we depend on.”_

The billionaire sighed, “I know, Jay. But like we already agreed, The Hulk is one hell of a player.”

_“… but perhaps Dr. Banner isn’t.”_

Toni kept her silent for a long time after that, absently designing the second to last model of StarkPhone, StarkPhone 5.0, the one that was only released in 2017. She didn’t think that the public was ready for the Bleeding Edge just like they aren’t ready to have holoscreen smartphones. The rumors about her being an alien were already getting too much attention.

Stark Industries never really bothered with tablets and smartphones, their products were mostly aimed at the big corporations, industries, hospitals, the government and the military. But it turns out that Toni liked having her name on a phone and it was quite the booming market.

But she mostly focused on things that the public would need. Who would even think to use a cellphone designer program for perspective architecture? Instead, she put so much memory that ten years of pictures and songs wouldn’t fill it. She invested in the screen to have better sensors, for better passwords and lock security and for the battery to last longer. For the structure to take heavier falls. For better Bluetooth tech to match a wireless headset or earbuds that she was also in the process of developing.

They really need earbuds that wouldn’t fall out or make your ears hurt.

As she finished the programing of the touchscreen, Toni leaned back in her chair, “Bruce was… a colleague in a way I never had. Some people just mock me saying that I can’t stand the thought of someone smarter than me, boy are they wrong. Before Rhodey, I had zero concept of “dumbing things down”, I used the technical, correct terms I learned in books and articles and couldn’t understand why people looked at me like I was the most frustrating living being in the world.

Bruce could keep up with me. First time that ever that happened and they weren’t old enough to be my father or I didn’t want to punch them in the face because all they could see was some rich girl that should be playing with dolls and makeup.

Perhaps that makes me pathetic because yeah, Bruce wasn’t exactly the greatest of friends, but I’d rather have him and his genuine disinterest and the way he puts walls around himself and Pepper and Rhodey and Happy that sometimes mess up, that have their own lives and their own priorities than… I don’t know, Sam Wilson and Scott Lang that don’t dare or even want to say a single word against their… leader or idol or something and just drop everything and everyone in their lives at Rogers’ word.”

The insight she had this afternoon just concretized something that, up to that point, was too abstract.

Toni was used to being the one that messes up, the one that gets her foot in her mouth, the one that was too insensitive. But her friends are humans too, they also make mistakes and they also get at loss of how to act sometimes.

That realization made her recall all the times that Pepper and Rhodey and Happy got frustrated with her and, there were times, when she apologized and didn’t let them get a word in edgewise that, perhaps, they were trying to apologize too, to grow as people too.

 _“I see.”_ And J.A.R.V.I.S truly sounded like he did.

“What’s next, J.A.R.V.I.S?” she requested softly.

_“By the end of the year, PR and legal will have secured Iron Woman, who, as a matter of fact, is needed in Afghanistan. Another SI’s weapons cache was seen in the area.”_

“We will fix that first thing tomorrow morning, that is short term. There will be at least another two dozen missions like this one before 2010, a few more until 2014, after that, Iron Woman will mainly see use in relief efforts… uh.”

_“What is it, Miss?”_

“Iron Woman could also be one hell of an asset in African outreach programs.”

_“… are you sure it is wise to provoke Wakanda even more? We will be ready to track Vibranium by the end of 2010. Getting their attention even earlier could spell trouble.”_

Toni giggled, “I was just kidding… sort of. The assembling manufacturing unit is almost ready to start building the Iron Legion though and my thought is: why not use it as THE bargaining ship in the senate hearing in 2010.”

_“Is our objective to avoid the hearing altogether?”_

“Not even for a second! That hearing must happen. I have plans for that hearing. The hearing is important.”

_“… will we add those plans to the existing files? Or will Colonel Rhodes be involved?”_

Toni smiled at the concerned tone J.A.R.V.I.S took and reassured him, “Yes and yes.”

 _“Good.”_ The A.I said firmly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I explored Science "Bros" more deeply, I guess we all collectively wanted Science Bros to happen and we were all disappointed that Bruce wasn't a better friend so this is me pulling every trick and exploring every angle I managed to sequeeze.


	15. Girl Power: Planning Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Four days late *ducks* don't kill me...
> 
> Anyhow, next will be up in July, 15 I swear!

July 3, 2008.

.

With most of everything officially in the backburner, Toni was going to relax. Her workload has never been lighter. It felt like high school. And she was twelve when she was in high school.

Ok, perhaps not like high school where she finished every homework and presentation in fifteen minutes every other day.

Iron Woman was seen overseas trice a week, rescuing civilians, freeing villages, destroying weapons caches. And, once the link between J.A.R.V.I.S and SI’s satellite was complete she could alert proper authorities about possible natural disasters and aid in relief efforts after the approval of the local government.

Per Rhodey’s suggestion, Toni also contacted the American government with her plans in the relief efforts and the current president, Ellis’ predecessor was seen shaking hands with mayors and governors alike. Especially after her sanctioned involvement in Iowa’s flood, then the earthquakes in Japan.

Japan actually opened doors to discussions about Iron Woman’s involvement in international relief efforts. They were especially pleased by her fluency in their language and the doors it opened for Stark Industries, which also pleased the board.

NDAs almost rained on the Stark Industries’ CEO since, although her passport had visas to almost everywhere, there was no legal guarantee that she wouldn’t snoop around a bit.

As Toni happily signed the contracts, the billionaire couldn’t help but smile at the precedent they were setting.

With Rhodey returning in exactly twelve days, they would put something together with their own government. Japan was, for now, a one-off but Iron Woman getting verbal and even contractual agreements from the government and coordinating with local authorities, transporting and rescuing… yes, they were in the right track.

Aside from Iron Woman missions where she was reducing even more possible property damages and casualties since she knew what to expect, Toni was working the marketing for the new line of products that will be released a year from then.

The StarkPad had a processor not unlike an actual computer, the public didn’t need all the features and settings it has, so it was used mainly by directors and their own employees. Toni also reopened the domestic electronics department and the vehicles one too.

Stark Industries was monopolizing front pages everywhere and the ones that weren’t focusing on SI were focusing on Iron Woman.

The idea was for toys, cars, cellphones, everything with Iron Woman image… and, with some luck, War Machine and the Hulk.

Bruce eyed all her running around with a little amusement and a little shock, “So…this is kind of shooting in all directions.”

“By the end of next year, every house will have something with the name Stark on it.” She smiled brilliantly at him.

“Ok…” Bruce nodded as if he understood, “That sounds eerily like world domination, but fine.”

Toni laughed a little at that, “Nah. So far we have daily use electronics like cellphones, tablets, kitchen stuff and even curling irons and hairdryers. I’m planning to reopen that department actually. Everything that people use at home, perhaps even the laundry equipment. I want to start designing vehicles again like all the kinds of cars from sports to hatches and SUVs, trucks, buses but also planes, and jets. I still have active contracts in defense so better body armors and shields for the military and those high-tech gadgets… I’m **_may_** be watching too many spy movies, but the FBI and CIA could use a better voice and face recognition programs… oh, installed in their sunglasses too!”

“World domination.” Bruce repeated now completely amused.

She rolled her eyes but Toni was still smiling, “Like I said: no. For it to be real world domination I would also have to open my own PR agency, a law office, my own gyms, cosmetics and brand clothes… actually cosmetics can be something that can be included in the chemical section, it will have to be another department since I doubt that my R&D people will like transitioning from cutting edge medicine to lipstick but still. Oh! The market really needs a faster 3D printer for STEM.” Which would put her in the path to collide with one Dr. Helen Cho, “I love my brain.”

“… When you choose your overlord name, can you not do any Star Wars references? Don’t think I forgot that you’re trying to make your car fold around you to become your armor.”

“… that was because of Transformers not Star Wars. Oh, my God, what kind of nerd are you?”

So perhaps her workload didn’t decrease all that much, but the stress that it brought was so insignificant that Toni could even ease Pepper into CKO position without her knowledge. Training her to be one of the directors and then bringing up her promotion once Toni saw that there was nothing more that Pepper needed to know. With the rate Pepper was learning, that was bound to happen and with some luck, perhaps, a little ironically, by 2010. If only to test the waters. Full transition will take more time though, but for now, 2012 fits just right with her plans.

Which reminded Toni of her future lack of a trustworthy PA which also reminded her of Natashalie which in turn made her squash the thought almost immediately. Natasha and S.H.I.E.L.D’s sad attempt into manipulating her was almost two years away. She had two years to consolidate SI and Iron Woman and she had a year and a half to get ready for Jennifer Walter, Matt Murdock, Jessica Jones, Helen Cho and Jane Foster.

And yet: Toni has never felt lighter.

Physically as well once she replaced the Palladium core for the Starkium one.

Happy and Pepper were both worried about the possible side effects, but they relented when they saw Toni drinking that disgusting chlorophyll juice. Dear lord, that thing has kale! Horses and cows eat that thing.

That went so smoothly that Toni had to pinch herself a bit.

Rhodey rolled his eye though, “Pushing your friends away and hiding the fact that you’re dying for the better part of two years will do that to a person, Tones. You gave them the truth when it was in the initial stages and you already had a solution for it. Of course it went more smoothly.”

~*~

.

July 15, 2008.

.

Malibu, California.

.

But nothing everything were roses.

““Ignoring the problem hoping it goes away” is not a plan, Toni.” Rhodey waited and listened to what has been going on in his absence and that’s what he had to say.

They had a good system that if it was a real deal emergency, Toni would call, otherwise they would sync their schedules so they would get their free days overlapping to plan their steps. That was agreed when Toni’s call distracted Rhodey so badly that he almost made a mistake before the mission, luckily there was no bad outcome this time.

Rhodey ignored how Toni kept looking at him as if they were back in college and doing the exact same thing.

“First of all, I’m not ignoring the problem. Last time, Jennifer didn’t even reveal herself until Thanos came, she was obviously in control and could measure her strength to the point that she could give basic life support and chest compressions while green and not squash anyone. So why try to fix what isn’t broken?”

“I thought we agreed to bring She-Hulk in earlier… to get more traction so that Rogers and the stooges that decide to follow him are not the world’s only option if things go south.”

“Yes but we also need to think about Bruce, about Hulk’s image. If Jennifer comes in with her long hair blowing in the wind what will happen to the Hulk?”

Rhodey took in a deep breath and tried to get back to strategy mode, “Ok. We need a balance. How well do you know Walters?”

“… uh… before all this, in the original timeline, I knew **_of_** her. SI seriously considered her when we were cleaning house. The only reason we didn’t headhunt her is because we were already looking elsewhere and she was still in law school, she is gonna take the bar exam in 2009.”

“What about her being Banner’s cousin?”

Toni just looked helplessly back, “Rhodey… I wasn’t actively looking for other people with… abilities. When I became Iron Woman way back then, I had one objective in mind, clean up SI, and turn the Stark name into something good again. I wasn’t planning on… aliens and super teams. I was… more or less aware that there were people jumping around in spandex but I didn’t have any reason to reach out until 2012 when aliens attacked and by then the Avengers were all set up so I thought someone **_else_** could be recruiting. I didn’t know that the Avengers would crash and burn the way they did.”

That stopped Rhodes short and the colonel, very visibly embarrassed apologized, “I’m sorry, Toni. I… I hate when you improvise. I like a plan going in even if no plan survives first contact and I don’t even know why you’re doing what you’re doing. I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine.” She assured him. “I also should apologize because you’re right that you should know, so I’m sorry.”

“So… Walters, what else is there?”

“I didn’t know that Bruce even had a cousin and that cousin got SI’s attention and that she would turn out to be Enhanced.

The first time Bruce mentioned her was, uh, 2013, right after Extremis. Bruce helped me stabilize it in Pepper and then we were having legal trouble to use the Virus to rebuild my sternum and he mentioned that his cousin was a lawyer that, and I quote, “wasn’t afraid of danger” when I said that anyone involved could be targeted since after we perfected Extremis it was a way to Enhanced people. We didn’t need a lawyer in the end after I bought A.I.M and its patents but from that, Jennifer became She-Hulk before 2013 I just don’t know when exactly that was.”

“2013… we just wait.”

“We wait. Just not until 2013 because… SI does need the manpower we lost to Stane, Platypus, but for now… We have almost four years to build Hulk’s image before he is needed in the field for the Chitauri, that’s… more than enough.” Or at least she hoped.

But the airman stared at her shrewdly, “But you feel guilty. About not telling Walters that her cousin is safe.” When Toni didn’t say anything, Rhodey continued, “Telling her right now…”

“Will only make things worse. She is still an academic, still building her career and she can’t do anything to help. Professionally.” Toni completed.

“… but?”

“But Jennifer is the only family Bruce has left and vice versa and they have been by themselves for a while now. On the other hand if I bring her in right now or even just after she becomes She-Hulk then her presence will throw our knowledge of future events to the wind. She might not even become She-Hulk if she isn’t already… and then I begin to think if it’s… if she could go back and not become She-Hulk at all, if she would take that opportunity.”

“Toni… if you begin to get yourself involved **_then_** you’ll have no excuse. We are planning for a mass extinction level event… universal level event. But individual lives are not up to you.” Rhodey pointed out.

“Even if I can prevent it?” Toni demanded, “I know about a kid, a fifteen year old kid that got powers and didn’t stop… I think it was a robber or something and that robber shot his uncle, who raised him since he was four years old. The guilt was so great that this high school freshman got into his head that everything bad that happened around him that he didn’t stop was his fault.”

Rhodey gawked at her for a solid minute, “That has to be the most… I… what? Pretend that you know that his uncle will die… February, 9 in 2011, what if Iron Woman was… in Japan, helping with another earthquake, and I’m on call? And you can’t be here on time to prevent it? Or even if you make some convoluted plan to prevent it and make sure that the guy is… in Japan with you because you hired him for whatever job and the plane he is in crashes while you are still busy?

Fine, we can try and prevent as many deaths as we can but even if we know something is going to happen, that doesn’t make our involvement right, we can end up making the whole situation a lot worse.”

The inventor bit her lip before admitting, “I don’t actually know when his uncle will die… or specifically how.”

Rhodey gawked again before looking upwards, “Toni…”

“Yes, I know. I’m outpacing myself, I need to be patient and etc.”

“We are both too used at looking at the big picture that we get lost how to handle the small picture.”

Toni made a face at that, “We win wars but not battles?” she tried.

“… we need someone closer to the ground.” He slumped back and answered a few texts in his cellphone.

“You know, that was supposed to be Rogers’ job.”

Rhodey grunted, “Do **_not_** remind me. A team… person looking at the big picture and another person looking at the small picture only work if they communicate and actually listen.”

The billionaire snorted at that, “Yeah, right.”

The airman just deadpanned, “Yeah… don’t get that look on your face. You may follow orders… by the letter instead of the spirit, but you still bug the crap out of me before and after…”

“Yes… but I listen to you.”

And Rhodey couldn’t really say anything disputing that. When Toni is asked to do something she doesn’t see the goal or purpose of, she contests like everybody is out to offend her. She questions the most minuscule and ridiculous details, but once sufficiently convinced, she acquiesces. Far from gracefully but she does.

“I feel honored.” He rolled his eyes, “But I mean it: unless you know for certain every detail, meaning personal experience on it, and it affects us or our plans, don’t butt in. Or else you’ll end up doing surveillance on the kid’s uncle without rest for a whole year just waiting for an event that you don’t even know the circumstances of and that started and was over in what? Fifteen minutes?”

“Ah… the kid said that he didn’t stop the robber on the way out of… somewhere… and that he saw when his uncle got in the way and the robber shot him.”

“That’s it? That’s all you know?”

“Well, yes.” Toni sheepishly smiled at him.

“And you don’t even know if the robber is a robber or… something else altogether.”

“Not really. I was… already invading his privacy enough and I figured that when he was ready to open up about it, he would tell me the details.”

Rhodey stared, and then he snorted, and then he was laughing. When he finally stopped, he glared a Toni, “Do **_not_** butt in. I’m assuming you know just about the same amount of how he got his powers ditto with Walters.”

“I actually know even less about that part… of both of them. I mean, I got the S.H.I.E.L.D files on Bruce but then it came to the part that his parents were dead and there was police involvement and… then I stopped looking.”

“… I’m sorry that you don’t know enough to prevent it, I truly am but I am also happy about it. Apply the same policy now. And in the meantime I will look up this Sam Wilson. Even if he is a huge cheerleader, his resume could point us to someone useful.”

The billionaire groaned but followed the segue, “Wilson is… you hear him talking and the first thing in your head is that there is no guy in the world more level headed. I think it’s sorta like Rogers who talks great and…”

“Is an idiot.”

“…Wilson is more about nonsense than idiocy, but sure, yes.”

Rhodes nodded, “You’ll focus on SI, I’ll focus on my own career and we will both set up a MO for Iron Woman, War Machine and the Hulk. Walters, Jones, Murdock and Foster in 2009, Helen Cho, in 2010 and Thor and Loki in 2011. It’s a waiting game, Tones. And with any luck, that Xavier guy after the Chitauri in 2012 and the rest in 2014 or 2015. Until then…”

“Don’t butt in.” She promised.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we have Toni setting up the nice precedents of... you know... being invited before barging through the door *roll eyes*.
> 
> The time travel...
> 
> It's a conflict that I think can wreck ANYONE's mind: you time travel and you know about a death... do you stop it? And if you don't, how do you face their loved ones? Or if you do and they end up dead in another way, or worse off down the line?
> 
> In many ways, Rhodey and Toni deciding on not interfering about people ganing extra abilities is a lot simpler. Regardless if they come to regret it later, is it up to Toni to nose her way into these affairs? Nope.
> 
> Either way, something I thought about is that Tony had zero reason to LOOK for people with extra abilities. He became Iron Man to make something good out of the Stark name again, to clean up his legacy... why would he go around looking to recruit for allien invasions before 2012? Answer: he wouldn't. Thus my headcanon that Toni has very little to no idea about the many vigilantes  
> running around.
> 
> I also have this headcanon that Tony never really read the other Avengers' personal files. One of the arguments he could have made about the Hulk was the fact that he protected Betty, but he didn't. Instead, Tony focused on the math, on the science, on the radiation and the probabilities of Bruce surviving... which already puts him leagues above Steve "I watched the footage" Rogers.
> 
> ~*~  
> NO SPOILERS. AT LEAST I THINK NOT...  
> I watched Far From Home... can't really complain on the overall but Spider Man's producers and screewritters just have zero creativity in creating villains backgrounds, uh?
> 
> And ha, ha, ha. I CALLED IT! Tony is dead and still being used as a doormat... *roll eyes*


	16. Science Club - Interlude Part 2

August 28, 2008.

.

Malibu, California.

.

Bruce’s decision to take a leap of faith couldn’t have come at a better time.

“Christmas release?” the physicist repeated in exasperation.

“The Hulk is already green, we throw a little of red and it’s perfect. It’s especially perfect with SI’s new direction as the leading company in green energy… heh, green.”

“… I… you’re twelve and I don’t think the Hulk is the greatest example of green energy considering…”

Toni paused a little as if in thought before shrugging, “We can spin it as knowing exactly what we are talking about when defending green energy. He can even be the poster boy for the New York’s HQ we are coming up with.”

“Is that part of Kimball’s plans?”

Her answer was immediate, “Not even a little bit but the Christmas part is, by the way.”

“Christmas, really? That’s the plan?” Bruce was beginning to regret everything.

“Don’t be absurd, I was just messing with you about the red thing. The Hulk, like Iron Woman is like something straight out of comic books.”

“Or nightmares.” but his mumble was ignored.

“So… action figures, comics conveniently picturing the real events, backpacks and lunchboxes and… keychains, phone cases, oh, look at what the PR’s R&D came up with,” she held up two huge gloves they were big, muscled and green. One made of a durable material, the other soft like a pillow but just as big, “Collector’s item and a kiddy version, cool, uh? They are coming up with repulsor gloves although having a little trouble with the battery life for the light and the noise.”

Her fellow scientist eyed the huge green fists and slumped his shoulders, “Oh, God.”

Toni took pity on the man, “Hey… wanna help me come up with a better battery for the kids’ toy?”

Bruce took the pass gratefully, “Most toys just have a poor conductor, the battery with a triple A is usually enough.”

“That’s why instead of plastic, SI is using silicon and foam. Take a look at this,” she dangled an Iron Woman helmet, completed with led eyes and a face plate that actually opens and closes, “and it’s even unisex.”

“Cool.” He admitted. Knowing that he would have wanted one as a kid. And then something that Toni said snapped him back, “Wait… you said something about comic books?”

“Yeah, we are stuff of comics!” Toni jokingly put on the plastic helmet and turned on the led lights, “Uh, I need to come up with a way of having the led eyes work but the user can still actually **_see_**. But the lenses in the Iron Woman helmet would be really out of the average American pocket—”

“Toni!”

“What?”

“Comics… about the… the…. Other Guy,” Bruce had yet to call the Hulk by the media given name, “about how he… is around… with the actual events that took place.”

Toni’s eyes softened, “The comics won’t use real names until we are ready to deal with Ross, Bruce… like… origin story, special edition.”

The physicist groaned at the absurdity of the conversation.

“The first thing, however,” she started slowly, “is to improve Hulk’s image, your image. Overwhelming public opinion can sway governments. That’s why we have marches and protests, lobbying. Regardless of the outcome with Ross, if the public is on your side then there is a safety net.”

“I know all of this, Toni.” Bruce raised an eyebrow at her going through the trouble of explaining something so simple. Her surprised blink made him frown in confusion, “I… I have been… busy in the last five years but common knowledge is still common knowledge.”

“I didn’t mean to offend.”

“You didn’t,” he assured, “but…I guess that as CEO you’re used to explain the small details. Sorry, I… I’m no expressing myself very eloquently. Ok, I’m not offended at all and I’m also not trying to offend you… or your board or your co-workers.”

“Not offended either… not even on behalf of my employers.”

“Right, what I meant was that… I get it. I’m pretty smart myself.” He joked but Bruce could see that it failed a little when Toni didn’t laugh.

After all this time, Toni knew that the dynamic between her and the… Avengers was not normal or healthy or… yeah.

To be honest before Rhodey, Pepper and Happy, Toni didn’t have many… any casual friendships. The kinds that you meet someone, liked their personality and hang out.

Because of who she was… or better yet, what she could represent, most approached her with second intentions. Be it living a rich lifestyle by proxy, because of her genius or just sex, Toni wasn’t used… she just didn’t know what “normal” was… aside from whatever the TV said.

Keeping up with the Kardashians, although relatable enough for her – aside from the cosmetic surgeries and the free time – **_can’t_** be considered the usual American lifestyle.

So as disconnected as Toni was from the “normal” daily life, how is it possible that she had to constantly explain what Bruce called “common knowledge”?

And then it hit her.

Toni was so used to explain… everything, in a professional setting, be it science or business that she didn’t think much when she also had to explain what most would call “common knowledge”. Like… people have the right to sue when a family member is injured… or killed. And that facing a huge crowd, admitting to a mistake and sincerely apologizing for it with no “but” in the middle went a long way.

And yet the Avengers were a former Russian terrorist assassin, a mercenary, an alien and a man that missed seventy years’ worth of history and changes.

It’s not that Bruce got her on a professional setting, it’s that he is also the only one that understands anything that she did at all. The preparation, the groundwork, the need for intelligence for a mission still weeks and months away, the actual mission parameters with everybody knowing their jobs and expectations, the aftermath, the need to address what happened publicly and make amends regardless of whatever was “necessary” or “unavoidable”…

Toni was aware she was unnerving Bruce with her stone stare, but… she exhaled.

Was it such a wonder that the Avengers were a disaster? What was Fury thinking? He can’t be that dumb, can he?

More and more, Toni was thinking that the Avengers were a HYDRA setup because the alternative is that none of the dozens of people involved in the Avengers project, from the techie that mostly served coffee to the members themselves realized…

_“We are a chemical mixture that causes chaos. We’re a time bomb.”_

“You are pretty smart.” She tried to smile but by the look of concern sent her way by Bruce, Toni failed.

~*~

Bruce toyed a little with the tee shirt. Black and with a huge green fist in the middle and “Incredible Hulk” printed.

Taking a very deep breath, the scientist put it on. It was a little baggy but the fabric was really soft.

Going along with this meant accepting that the… Hulk wasn’t going anywhere. Banking his freedom from Ross on the population as whole liking even loving the Hulk – if they were to protest and be on his side against an American General – was putting his trust on too many people and situations that he never did.

First of all, it wasn’t on Toni, a virtual stranger and her PR and lawyers… even more strangers.

No. It was on the Hulk. On some level, Bruce could appreciate that the Hulk wasn’t some mindless beast, he did protect and save Betty in Culver and again in Harlem when Blonsky almost exploded the helicopter but Bruce wasn’t sure about betting on him, about putting all his chips on a being that is so strong a handshake could turn into an amputation.

And sure, Betty came out… more or less ok… the second time around. Which the same couldn’t be said about any encounter with Blonsky.

But that meant that, in some level, Bruce Banner and the Hulk shared more than a physical host. That the Hulk was more like him that Bruce ever wanted to admit or confront. That there is a part of him that enjoyed to… smash.

All this situation with the tee shirts, the toys, the Christmas release product meant accepting something that he didn’t trust nor wanted to face.

And then even putting aside the trust issues on the Hulk, on himself, on Toni Stark and her lawyers and PR people.

When he looked at Toni Stark, it was startling to see how easily he could have had her life.

He snorted. No, that wasn’t truth, not even because of the obvious: the spotlights and the business side of things but because of their core personality.

Toni stands and draws a line in the sand and fights. And he… runs. There was no other word for what he did. It wasn’t an invalid tact considering everything. He didn’t trust the Hulk, that thing inside of him, then it was the only option that exists.

But Bruce spent five years on the run and he was no closer to a solution than five years ago. Because being on the run means no resources and no time. The patents… if one could call them that, despite that Toni did, Bruce designed and built for the places that needed and the places that could pay him, he turned most of the revenue back for the Hulk’s destruction, they had nothing to do with reversing what he did to himself.

And it all circles back to the merchandize that he was currently wearing.

“Did you like it? The fabric is soft like Egyptian cotton but still affordable, it’s a new microfiber that I have been tweaking with for gear in any environment. Doesn’t offer much protection though and the body armor would defeat the whole point so… tee shirts that feels like heaven, until I come up with something.”

Toni bounced into the room, relieved and tasting the sweet freedom after so many meetings for SI.

Bruce looked down the on huge green fist and smiled a little, “It is really soft.”

“You look… kind of lost.”

 “I’m forever looking kind of lost. Do you think my fans won’t like it?” he went for a joke but Toni answered seriously much to his embarrassment.

“Actually the nerd type is becoming more and more popular.”

“… What?”

“You know… glasses, the shy thing, the science talk… the lab coat has inspired some kinky—”

“Ok, I get the picture!” that made Toni laugh really loudly, “But really? That was not at all what was going on in high school or even college for that matter.”

“You went to college at sixteen, so nerd or not, a sixteen-year-old wouldn’t see much action with girls three to four years older unless they liked you so much that they would be willing to infringe the law for you.”

“Yeah, ok, point.”

“PR and legal talk to you yet?” Toni put a Hulk tee shirt too over her social shirt that she maneuvered through a sleeve and threw inside her handbag.

“I honestly don’t know how women do that and yes they did.”

“Basically practice, when girls start wearing a bra it’s uncomfortable as hell, so sometimes we just take it off as discreetly as we can which doesn’t include going to the bathroom to do it, so a shirt is basically child’s play. What did they say?”

“Preliminary stages still. We begin easy, mostly to avoid any legal confrontation or backlash from Ross and whoever else. The lawyers, as we discussed, are basically winging it and writing a whole set of arguments around the fact that the Hulk shielded and protected Betty which…”

“Which means that Dr. Ross will have to testify.” Toni completed softly.

The physicist sighed, “Yes. I… asked them to put that as plan B… plan C, plan L of Last and they agreed even if they advised me that… it was the best plan.”

“It is the ultimate proof that there is more to the Hulk.”

“I know, I just don’t…Ross deserves to face Betty as the key witness, but Betty doesn’t.”

Toni watched as her fellow genius sat on the couch, leaning back enough to rest his head and she allowed a few minutes of silence.

“Can I ask you something? It’s none of my business, it’s probably a huge… disrespect of privacy… I… I don’t really have much… uh… experience or… basic social knowledge to really identify the subtleties.”

“Don’t worry about that, I don’t either.”

“Ok… taking Ross down legally is a piece of cake. The truly hard part that my lawyers are laboring over is your defense. Just because Ross is a piece of crap doesn’t clear the Hulk after all.”

“I know.” Bruce adjusted his glasses, now really curious.

“And I know that you don’t trust the Hulk but putting away a corrupt General has nothing to do with the Hulk. If it wasn’t for Ross’ obsession about the Hulk, we could have a real issue in our hands… the country’s hands. But is that it what boils down to? Dr. Elizabeth Ross?”

Toni always thought she knew the answer. But then again, she thought she knew the answers to a lot of things that turned out she was wrong about, so why not this?

Bruce could have put Ross away. Sure, the Hulk could be deemed guilty but Ross would be out, he wouldn’t be anyone’s problems ever again.

But from what she could see, from what was stored digitally and she managed to get her hands on, Ross truly began his… descend to darkness with the Hulk. He was plainly doing his job before the Gamma project, and again if they were to charge him with deceiving all those professionals involved then Bruce would have to be present as the ultimate proof. He was the key witness and he could have always run away afterwards, who would be able to stop him?

Ross’ mad rants about the danger of the Hulk would be hot air when he was one of the reasons that the Hulk existed in the first place because he illegally falsified documents and put professionals in the payroll with lies about what the project was all about… sure, even Toni herself was having trouble with locating said documents but still…

Toni thought she could have worded it a little better but… like she said, she wasn’t really used to choosing her words all that carefully… unless she was manipulating people and she didn’t want that with Bruce.

“I don’t mind you asking. Betty… she is a first love. First woman that I ever thought, “I love her”. I don’t know… exactly how I feel nowadays, but that’s… first love and such a short while ago, you don’t forget so easily, perhaps ever. She is a good person, a great person, and she doesn’t deserve to go to court and spew a bunch of her own dad’s less than savory… actions.

But you’re also right. If Ross has done anything else that wasn’t about the Hulk, regardless of how dirty he went about it, but if he had, it would have been on me. Because I let him off the hook.

That has occurred to me even before you offered help, Toni. I can’t in good conscience let him wander around and hope he is so obsessed about the Hulk that he will never let his attention stray to other thoughts that could harm other people unfortunate enough to attract his eyes. I just don’t want Betty to have to do this if we can help it at all. But to do that I would need actual help… so… thank you, for this… even if I’m not sure about **_this_**.” He looked down at the tee shirt.

“I understand. And you’re welcome… and no dissing on the tee shirt.” She got up and got her handbag, Toni still needed to supervise R&D today, she was walking pass the piano when the billionaire turned on her heels.

The sound of her shoes stopping made Bruce look up from the StarkPad in his lap and the physicist braced himself when he saw the teasing smile on her face.

““L of Last”?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter I wanted to explore that, at the core, team combination went kaboom because of many factors. Never mind the clear incompatibility of personalities, but 2/3 of the team just were completely unused to... the world... society even.
> 
> More Science!!! LOL
> 
> Also... I kinda put MCU!Bruce in a grinder here: sure, he didn't trust the Hulk, but putting Ross away doesn't necessarily mean exhonerating the Hulk, it was about putting a crazed General away. If Ross ever strayed his little eyes away from the Hulk... it would be partially Bruce's fault for not doing his part when he could...
> 
> Love is all well and good, but being in love with Betty Ross (that Obadiah-ed out of existence anyways) doesn't really cover letting Ross off the hook...


	17. A Well-Deserved Break

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have been super mega busy with college starting again *cries rivers* and I just found out that a "cancelled" test was just merely "re-schedulled"... yay! *sarcasm*
> 
> Anyways, I will prolly not have much time for the fandom because of that but next chap should be up in August, 5.

.

Malibu, California.

.

Toni took another sip from her fruit drink while sunbathing by the rarely used pool in the Malibu mansion. She forgot how much she liked California.

In the past… well, by 2018, it had been almost ten years since she last sunbathed. Couldn’t possibly be healthy, but then again, so little she did up to then could be considered healthy so really, drop in the ocean.

“I really can’t picture you going ten years without this.” Rhodey mentioned once he got into the pool area.

“…I really don’t know how I made it.” Toni pushed her sunglasses to her head and smiled up at her friend. “You gotta be burning up in that thing.” She eyed the military uniform.

Both knew that Toni was very well aware that Rhodey only ever shows up in her house in the military garb when he came straight from a meeting with the higher ups.

“I managed to get you in a meeting. Uh… Major General William Gabriel is still…”

“Mad as hell?”

“Oh, yeah.”

The Air Force Major General present in her last weapon expo, the Jericho in Afghanistan, wasn’t the happiest of campers.

Oh, he helped Rhodey keep the searching going alright… after Rhodey pulled every trick from the book and he was also ecstatic that she was found.  But the same couldn’t be said when Toni shut down the weapons division the second she got back.

A pleasant acquaintance turned into bitter stranger wasn’t a nice change but Toni couldn’t do much about it.

She almost laughed actually because in the first time around, Toni didn’t even notice that the man had a problem with her at all. After shutting down the weapons division, there wasn’t much reason to meet with him.

Body armor and the other gadgets weren’t exactly in his department.

But once Rhode tried to set up a meeting with him… yeah.

“General Andaz agreed to see you.”

Rhodey remained unmoved by the incredulous and long-suffering groan sigh Toni let out.

“Oh, god, the Paper Lover. That’s awesome, really.” She reached for the tiny bottle of vodka Toni sneaks out of her jets for this kind of occasion and poured it into her drink.

“In a way he **_is_** perfect for what we want. He spends… a ridiculous amount of time in bureaucratic crap, which he genuinely loves. Really, pitching the idea of Iron Woman, War Machine and, in the future, the Hulk’s integration or even creating a whole new MO for international cooperation is bound to be his dream come true.”

Toni shrugged at that, “Perhaps, but do we even know his opinion on the whole Enhanced thing? At the very least, is a he friend of Ross’?”

“… I don’t know.” Rhodey admitted at last and took off his cap and jacket. Boy, California was hot.

“But that’s it?”

“That’s it what?” he went back to the shade where he wouldn’t lose any more body fluid through sweating.

“Setting up a meeting with a General from the Air Force, lawyers and more lawyers to draft something up about international cooperation for when SI’s weapons caches are all retrieved or destroyed. That is it and the deadline is 2010, right?”

Rhodey smiled a little at her, “Yes, that is it.”

Smiling back, Toni patted the stretcher next to hers.

“Not wearing this uniform, Tones. But… where is Bruce?” he looked around.

“Reading over documents with PR and legal.”

“Hulk or Ross?”

“Gotta be more specific, buddy.”

“About clearing his name or putting Ross away?” they smirked at each other.

Different end goals and yet pretty much the same path.

“Considering… I have no idea.” Toni reached for a magazine. A gossip magazine. Jeez, when was the last time she did that?

“Really?” he raised an eyebrow, “Whatever happened to “knowing what goes on inside your house”?”

“When it’s about me, but this isn’t about me, it’s not endangering the public and…”

“You’re being lazy?” Rhodey offered.

“Yeah, sure.” She took another sip and made a face. Boy, she added too much vodka.

The airman leaned back in the palm three that was offering him shade, “I saw that SI is in talks with the prefecture in New York. Still planning to open Stark Tower?”

“Yep.” She flipped through another page. Brangelina Twins, heh.

“Please tell me that it will be SI’s headquarters… no one in tights.”

“Only in the gym.” She assured with an amused smirk over the magazine.

Rhodey wanted to be a hundred percent sure, “Oh, and the… “you work for SI so here’s your apartment in the Tower”…?”

“Not gonna be a thing.” Toni cleared her throat, clearly embarrassed over **_that_** little plan.

“Thank God!” He slumped back. “I love you, Tones, but what were you thinking? Choosing your employees’ address?”

The billionaire gave a sheepish shrug, “At the time… I was thinking about the people that were coming from all over the world and… adaptation periods. I don’t know, Platypus. It made sense at the time.” She finished helplessly.

“A very socially awkward kind of sense, but well, it **_is_** you.” The Colonel teased his friend.

“You’re so funny.” She deadpanned.

DUM-E rolled out bringing a drink for Rhodes as well, which the colonel wisely sniffed and carefully poured a bit in his hand to see if it was ok to actually drink.

Once Rhodey drank a bit of it, DUM-E whirled and chirped happily and went back inside.

“It’s like having an untrained golden retriever puppy.” Toni put her sunglasses back on.

“Uh… even untrained adult golden retrievers wouldn’t break your feet if they happened to step on it.” There was no bite in it since this time there was only orange, grapefruit and pineapple in the glass and he didn’t find out that DUM-E put shampoo instead of milk in a milkshake… like last time.

“Hey! DUM-E doesn’t roll over people’s feet… that’s U.” Toni mumbled the last part.

“Oh, because having five hundred pounds roll over your feet is much better than having six hundred and fifty pounds roll over your feet.”

“Uh… yeah? That’s the difference of an adult in weigh. And it could be a lot worse because Butterfingers could be rolling over your foot and that would be seven hundred pounds crushing your huge big toe.”

Rhodey mocked offence at that, “My toe is not that big!”

~*~

Stretching a little, Toni toed off her high heels and put the deep red Iron Woman and so, **_so_** soft slippers that Pepper gave her for Christmas while putting the flash bomb in the shape of a Neuralizer that Bruce made for her and the saberlight letter opener that Happy found for her on the table while munching on the brownies that Rhodey hates to bake so he only ever does for Christmas.

“Ok, Bruce, your turn.” She beamed as she handed a thin, brightly colored wrapped paper box to her fellow genius.

Bruce sheepishly unwrapped his first Christmas gift in years, “Toni, oh my God!”

“Just worked out the kinks, it will be released next year, perhaps in summer… uh, perhaps a more civilian-friendly version first, now that I think about it.” The shiny new tablet with holoscreen wasn’t much more than a “pen” projecting the images, texts and everything a screen would do, once you’re done, the two “pens” would snap together to occupy no more space than… a pen.

“Perhaps a more civilian-friendly version first.” He agreed still manipulating the holoscreen. “You do know that there are some gossips about you being an alien, right?”

“I saw.” She smiled just the tiniest bit put off while ignoring how Happy and Rhodey were snickering in the back.

“Aliens aside, merry Christmas, Bruce.” Pepper handed her own gift.

She was happy that someone as… normal as Bruce entered Toni’s life. The last time was herself and they’ve know each other for almost six years now. During which, Pepper watched how people tried to wiggle themselves into Toni’s life for less than honorable reasons. Really, trying to pitch in some idea for Toni to develop was at the bottom and one would expect it to be the first one.

“Thanks, Pepper!” Bruce happily replaced the glasses he was currently wearing for the silicon ones.

“Even the lenses are made of a bendy material but please don’t make me explain it because I really don’t know. They are made for athletes and… explorers, I think?”

“This is from me.” It was Rhodey’s turn.

And Toni just smiled, her shoulders were relaxed, she was well-rested… things were alright, at least for now.


	18. Girl Power: Execution Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still a completely overworked college student. Deadlines have been hell! I know that the teachers have their own deadlines but must all projects be finished on the same fricking week?
> 
> Anyhow, sorry for the delay. Next chapter will probably be up in October, 5... don't kill me!

January, 2009.

.

Toni stepped out of her jet and took a look around. This was the first time she ever went to New Mexico, it was dry and really hot and she really shouldn’t have worn high heels.

Time to get to work.

2009 was going to be a beast in paperwork, in legwork, in everything. And they needed all players on the board and for now they were going about it chronologically.

Jane was actually with NASA before her theory started going… a little too far and the fund ran out and NASA wasn’t interested in picking up the tab anymore.

Toni could see their reasoning. In layman terms, what Jane was looking into was, in few words, space travel and portals to different places… Einstein-Rose Bridges… which are not even proven to be true… yet. Still, NASA wasn’t very happy to keep funding some theory that hasn’t made a single leap in decades.

So now, Jane was based in New Mexico, still exploring her theory.

With Happy by her side in all his suited glory – and Toni didn’t even want to picture how he wasn’t melting in this heat – she knocked on the door.

Darcy Lewis, political science undergrad, was an intern of Foster’s. But Toni liked her personality. She was just barely more than a year younger than Toni, so the billionaire kinda looked at Darcy – spunky and fun loving and hardcore – as what she wished her peers and friends would be like if she had a more normal life.

The woman gawked at her, “Oh, my god, Toni Stark.”

“That’s me, you are…”

“Uh, Darcy Lewis, uh…”

“Pleasure to meet you, is Dr. Foster home?”

Darcy opened her mouth and held a finger up, seemly unable to speak with her, “JANE! Get your ass here!”

Darcy and Jane were both 5’2 but Darcy sure made up for her lack of height with her personality. Toni still wasn’t quite used to looking down when talking to people what with teammates like Thor and Rogers. Even if she was already used to the extra height in the Iron Woman suit or in high heels, her 5’10 became 6’2 or 6’3, still…

“Oh, oh! Dr. uh… Dr. Stark…”

“Pleasure to meet you, Dr. Foster.” She offered her hand that was shaken hesitantly. “May I come in?”

~*~

The coffee wasn’t half bad and Toni was glad to sit down and be eyelevel with them.

“I’m sorry about not scheduling a meeting. I had your address but no contact information.”

“Think nothing of it!” Darcy smiled, seeming two seconds away from asking her for an autograph.

Smiling, Toni continued, making sure to make eye contact with both women, “Still, a show of professional respect wouldn’t be amiss.” And Jane was still mute, looking at her as if the billionaire was going bite… not good.

“Ah, if you insist.” And, in a move that Toni never saw outside of sitcoms and movies, Darcy unceremoniously took her wrist and wrote Jane’s and what appeared to be her own number in the back of Toni’s hand.

_Ok… that’s a new one, even for me._

“Thank you. Forgive me the bluntness but I am aware that NASA has terminated your contract.” That spurned Jane into action.

“Yes, they were too… stuck in their project.” Not very subtle sidestep but even after their less than amicable parting, Jane was still mindful of proprietary tech and information. Good.

“And since then you have published and focused on Einstein-Rosen Bridges, you came here for that, correct?”

“I’m optimistic.” She was **_almost_** defensive.

Not enough to be rude but enough to show her passion and the fact that she was not about to give up regardless of this big corporation no longer giving her money for it.

“I would like to invest in your research.”

Foster gaped but Darcy began to shoot question after question about the facility in California.

Stark Industries’ current HQ is in Malibu, and Toni did just open a whole new building to turn away from weapons production. Its focus was physics from theory and astrophysics – and yes, she was that sneaky – to quantum and geophysics, while the old facility dedicated themselves into dismantling and recycling and then they would turn to medical which would hopefully put her in Strange’s path.

Oh, damn, now Toni was feeling even more like a super villain. Who the hell plans like this?

 _“Batman.”_ She rolled her eyes at Rhodey’s answer a few days ago.

“Why?” Jane was wearier than her intern, Darcy.

Good, again. If Jane was to be dragged into this world she can’t just trust at the drop of a hat.

“I think that, like Ms. Lewis, you probably heard of the revamp I’ve been doing since last year in SI.”

““Darcy” is fine.” The woman chirped.

“Darcy it is then. I will inaugurate another building, solely focused on the fields in physics, there are some interdisciplinary interests mainly with biochemistry but physics is where the focus is. Actually, science is. From theoretical to the applied. I am personally funding the project and, at least for now, SI is uninvolved. SI’s board of directors is hardly any easier than NASA, Dr. Foster, when it’s about results that generate revenue.”

“And you are interested in astrophysics?” Jane wasn’t incredulous, exactly, much less accusing, but she was, understandably, confused.

Toni Stark was known for her feats in engineer. Most of the world… close to ninety-ninety percent actually, didn’t even know that she had seven PhDs and that two of them and quite a few Masters were in physics. But even then, her theses were about thermodynamics, magnetism and quantum when complementing String Theory. Not exactly astrophysics department.

“Raw honesty? Not really.” A lie, she was really interested in astrophysics but not in the way Jane was probably meaning, so not a lie? “But I would like to expand my horizons. I am already in talks with other scientists that are working on String Theory and I even have a team of astrophysics that is working on Dark Matter.”

“Does your list include atomic physics?” Now Jane was challenging her. And Toni felt respect growing.

“Of course it does, the applications are endless in interdisciplinary matters, especially quantum. Nuclear physics can be more than just about making things go boom, Dr. Foster.”

And with that, Toni made her blush.

“I’m sorry.”

“Apology accepted.” That was another thing that Toni was working on: accepting apologies.

Darcy bit her lip, “Uh… so, I saw the interview with General Andaz about new set of international laws for Iron Woman and War Machine, there was not even talks about lobbying, popular is cool, right, Dr. Stark?”

With her attention now on Darcy, Toni smiled a little. “Why astrophysics, Darcy? Your bachelor is political science and you seem to like it.”

“College credit that I need to graduate and working with Janey gives six, that’s a lot. And then I really like Janey and Selvig, so I stayed.”

When turning the same questioning eyes to Foster the woman sighed but smiled at her peppy intern, “She was the only applicant.”

“Happy accident then.” Toni joked a little seriously.

“I guess we can call it that.” Jane’s shoulders relaxed though.

“About my proposal?”

“Weather patterns took me here, Dr. Stark and working for you would imply moving to…” she trailed off.

“California or New York, it depends.”

“Yes, that’s a little too far. I will be honest, I do need funding, things are… as tight as they can get, I have been building my own equipment but… the distance…”

Toni hummed in response and both scientists ignored Darcy’s frantic gestures to Jane. The youngest woman clearly thought that Toni couldn’t see her.

“Tell you what. I also am participating in almost all projects in the, still unnamed, physics division. I give you twelve percent less of the funding I set aside in exchange for my personal help and videoconferences to the facility.”

Jane gawked, “Your personal…”

“For god’s sake, Janey!” Darcy couldn’t contain the outburst any longer.

But the astrophysicist didn’t seem to have heard Darcy, “I… Dr. Stark…”

“I think “Toni” is fine.”

But she was ignored,. “That is huge and so generous and I can’t even form the right words but whatever fund you thought to set aside, I’m sure that twelve percent is a lot less than your time is worth and I wouldn’t even be working on site and… that’s… people pay millions of dollars for an hour with you, and when you actually put your hands on a job, it’s…”

Consultation fees and those charities that placed bids for a date with a celebrity were public for anyone to see. Toni had the enormous urge to avert her eyes to the side and make a face.

Since Jane didn’t seem to know much about the plans to open the division, Toni thought that she also wouldn’t know that the last consulting job she did was literally fifteen million dollars for three hours of her time.

Granted, it was for a series of corporations that were beginning to invest in tech and her tips and lessons cut their expenses in almost half. And in the same month alone they earned almost five times what they spent with her plus their usual numbers.

Also, it wasn’t like Toni was the one to set up the number, HR and the legal department did that part. And not taking the payment for a job well done when you have all possible papers and diplomas proving your worth and time, meant that people would take it as charity or indentured service, ‘cause you don’t make those kind of “favors”, friend or not.

The inventor was never so happy that the little info that Toni Stark was arming, equipping and basically maintaining the Avengers free of charge never hit public ears. It would be a catastrophe of massive proportions.

For the Avengers, for SI, for the American government… she didn’t even want to think about it.

“Since it’s a personal project, I think I can decide what is worth my time or not. So, Dr. Foster, what do you think?”

“I still don’t feel comfortable about it. Your time is too valuable. I’ve seen the ideas for the prosthetics for the new medical division and… rehabilitation of veterans and the neurons pathways for nerve damage… and you scheduling Einstein-Rosen Bridges into it… it’s like asking for the world to wait a little longer for the cure of cancer because we need flying cars first.”

Toni took a few moments to make sure she wouldn’t laugh. “I have no idea how to even begin curing cancer and despite being overly used in fiction, the closest Einstein-Rosen Bridge would get to transportation is if we somehow build portals to get from California to New York.” For now at least. Loki changed a lot of things.

Darcy chuckled but Jane wasn’t amused. “I’m serious, Dr. Stark. It feels as if I’m depriving the world of a better lifestyle.”

And with that, Jane Foster had her respect, “Yes, Dr. Foster. I am involved in many health projects including even the indirect ones like clean energy. But this is for me. It’s… almost personal. A way to branch out and a way to… I guess, do more with what I have than fund raising. To be more hands on. Perhaps your theory is proven correct and perhaps it isn’t but I would like to be there to see it.”

Something passed through Jane’s eyes and the slightly older woman nodded slowly.

With a verbal agreement to send Toni a date for them to meet again, they said their goodbyes.

“I know that there are other reasons to contact Dr. Foster,” the seemly random start didn’t catch Toni off guard. Happy was a lot more observant than people gave him credit for. It worked for everybody since most dismissed the bodyguard as not much more than background character, “but that speech sounded very sincere, Boss.”

Toni smiled a little tiredly, “It could have used a little **_less_** sincerity.”

And then Happy was no longer her bodyguard and driver but her friend. “I know that you are happier with a screwdriver in your hand than behind a desk, Toni. I’ve known you for almost seven years now, I was there when you assumed CEO position and I think this is the first time you admit out loud any kind of aversion to the job, as subtle as that was. So what I want to ask is, are you ok?”

The inventor smiled at him from the rear mirror. “Not really. But I am getting better.”

“I can see that and I know it’s not therapy…”

Toni smiled again at the not very subtle prompt. “I was… fighting for unrealized potential that perhaps would never become reality. I guess I just decided that perhaps there is a door number two.”

“Whatever it was, it made you get some decades back in your life span.”

And Toni had to laugh at that. _If only he knew._

~*~

 _“How would you like to proceed, Miss.?”_ J.A.R.V.I.S greeted Toni once coming back from New Mexico and taking a shower. New Mexico was so hot, jeez.

“Put an “in progress” with Jane Foster, but she seems to lean more towards ‘yes’. After her papers on Einstein-Rosen Bridges, I want to approach the subject of space exploration with her. Concrete proof of the armada I have been warning everyone about. How is Jones’ license?”

_“Two weeks away from approval.”_

“Oh, thanks. I really liked my downtime but all the inaction was beginning to make me crazy.”

 _“Yes, your “downtime” was certainly unproductive.”_ J.A.R.V.I.S delivered in his deadpan. Toni smirked and eyed the almost three dozens of finished projects.

SI’s contracts were delivered and negotiated and signed. Deadlines met and approval for Stark Tower in New York was just put in her desk for 2012’s big reveal. Plans to go to Washington, California and then Germany, Italy, Japan and Portugal.

“How is the end of investigations going?” Toni quickly tied her hair in a bun and opened a random file that turned out to be from legal.

_“The FBI is almost concluding the search through SI’s manufacturing databases.”_

“And **_just_** the manufacturing ones, correct?” Toni personally oversaw the NDAs being signed and the deal being closed but one can never be too sure.

_“Correct, Miss. Over the years, Obadiah Stane has dealt with, as the saying goes, whoever gave more. His account has been seized but as the one that turned all the information over to the proper authorities, conduct dictates that without anyone to claim his assets, meaning will, children or spouse or former spouses, they will go to the one that turned them over.”_

The billionaire raised an eyebrow at that and then a lazy smile took over. “Say, Jay, how are we on the Terrorists Twins?”

_“Ms. And Mr. Maximoff have been seen in the company of known HYDRA members for almost a year now.”_

The inventor rolled her eyes, just as she became Iron Woman… oh, but that was such a totally unexpected happenstance.

“Any SI contracts that would require flight over Sokovian territory?”

_“I have been searching, Miss. But so far, none. If there is any evidence, there will only be hard copies.”_

The billionaire snorted. If it turns out that the missile that hit Maximoff’s house was not even from Obadiah but a fake… well, Toni honestly didn’t know how she would react but at least a facepalm was guaranteed. “So no reason for us to turn to Sokovia’s direction. Ok, how’s the media going?”

_“About the groundbreaking new tech SI is producing, the fact that even the more conservative members have quieted after their malicious comments about women in defense industry or about Toni Stark being an alien?”_

“… it was less than three posts about it in social media! And I was talking about Stane.”

_“There have been no mentions of him yet. So far, there isn’t even anyone aware that the weapons in the Middle East were illegally acquired in the first place.”_

“Everheart is either being lazy or she lost her touch.” She muttered to herself.

_“Miss?”_

“I have the beginnings of a plan… like… a portion. A thought.”

_“I’m certain, Miss.”_

Toni just smiled and turned her attention back to the holoscreen.  

Jennifer Walters and Matt Murdock would be headhunted in June and pending results of July’s Bar Exams in September, they would have job offers.

Jennifer will be easier to convince than Murdock though, that man would be very tricky. He was a human lie detector, he could sense if she was hiding anything and that would be hell.

And it’s not even as if she distrusted him. It’s just that Toni didn’t even know the man.

The guy was a defense lawyer that spent his nights beating up corrupt cops. Toni didn’t even know if he ever tried to lawful version of the thing before wearing a mask and full body leather.

She was not sheltered enough **_not_** to know that Hell’s Kitchen earned its nickname but knowing that an attempt has been made would be nice.

“Jay, call Pepper.” A snap decision.

_“Toni?”_

“Hey, Pep, sorry to call you on your day off, but I need you to run an errand for me in June.”

_“… I’m happy that you are being so… uh… responsible with possible conflicting schedules, but that is five months from now.”_

“Yeah, I know, but it’s important. I need you to… gauge someone for me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am currently laying the foundations:
> 
> Jane, Matt, Jessica and Jennifer...
> 
> They will ALL have many roles to fill and work to be done. Toni learned her lesson in trying to do everything herself. She is sharing the workload ;))


	19. Interlude: Groundwork

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure when the next update will be, but it will prolly be next weekend, I know, shocker! I will have a free week to sleep until Armageddon and then I will write some more ;))

 

February, 2009.

.

“What are the chances that this will get back to Stern?” Toni mumbled to Rhodey as they made their way into Air Force General Andaz’s office.

“None. First, we are not required to run pass any Senator before acquiring new tech and they are not even on each other’s radar, now shush.” They didn’t have to wait two seconds before his secretary was ushering them inside.

The perks of being Toni Stark, she guesses.

“Dr. Stark, a pleasure personally meeting you.” He didn’t look like it was a pleasure but nor did he look that it was an annoyance. Uh.

“Likewise, General.”

“Sir.” Rhodey saluted which was reciprocated but Andaz looked friendlier.

“Colonel Rhodes. I haven’t seen you since made Field Officer. The eagle looks good on you, wanna have a General attached to your name, perhaps?”

Toni raised an eyebrow at the casual greeting and turned to her friend with a **_look_** which was ignored.

“I don’t think so, General. I like piloting way too much.”

“Yeah,” he leafed through the Armor’s statistics, “I can see why. You know, Dr. Stark this **_almost_** made me want to leave my desk, and I really like my hundred years-old-oak desk.”

Rhodey shifted and the foot that almost crushed hers was a lot less subtle than her look, but Toni got the message and just smiled and nodded. Meanwhile thanking her decision to wear boots.

“But I’m little concerned with Colonel Rhodes’ report.”

There were several passages on that thing that, as Stern tried to do, taken out of context, pretty much put Iron Woman through the grinder. However, Rhodey and herself have a plan for every single one of them.

“Here, he takes note of the fact that you are a civilian, Dr. Stark, a remarkable one, of course, and with permission to carry firearms in pretty much all states and even a few other countries but the armor is something else altogether.”

“Sir, if I may?” Rhodey didn’t get out of his formal position.

“Yes, Colonel?”

“All the noted issues have been discussed previously, informally that is, with Dr. Stark and she has shown to be willing to rectify them.”

“That is good but my worry is the “informally”, I understand why you chose me in specific. I’m outside of your chain of command, I have no other previous personal or professional connections to either of you so there is a very strong argument of unbiased view.”

Toni didn’t react in any way, she was a better actress than that. But Andaz kinda missed the whole thing by several miles. Not that the points he raised weren’t valid, just… not the reason they approached him.

“But regardless of your wishes to, I suppose, “go legit”, we have the need to draft a whole new set of regulations for someone in your position, Dr. Stark.”

And there it was the reason they chose Andaz. The Paper Lover.

Andaz was competent but not power hungry, a little easy to manipulate but respectful of rules and has no previous relations with anything remotely “Enhanced”, if Iron Woman… better yet, if War Machine is the first contact, they could ensure a powerful ally for the Enhanced right off the bat and he was the perfect person to get a leg in an official regulation that was not looking for anything other than what it actually works.

Jeez, the guy graduated in law school through ROTC, there are a thousand and one reasons he was called “Paper Lover”.

“I understand, General. I am an untrained civilian with no real authority and even thought I also have the knowledge to sidestep and circumvent much while still operating overseas I know that this is not a sustainable situation.” Well, technically, it was pretty sustainable as long as she didn’t try to cover for other people that don’t even try to meet in the middle.

“Thank you, Dr. Stark. For now, the legalese will take some time but as for the “untrained”… I think I assume correctly that you don’t wish to be a military, correct?”

Toni suppressed a shudder, “You are correct.” And she smashed her high heel into Rhodey’s foot at his subtle smirk. Tit for tat and all.

“This is very unprecedented,” not really, Toni thought, “but I believe we can still find a middle ground.” That’s the hope, the billionaire inwardly grimaced.

“In the meantime…” She prompted.

“In the meantime… what do you think of a… an adapted boot camp?”

And then Rhodey had to twist his lips in the effort not to laugh. Even with the high heel digging on his feet, this was worth it.

~*~

“It is a reasonable idea, Tones.” His laugher controlled, Rhodey just watched as his friend rolled her eyes and typed some documents on their way back to the Malibu mansion.

“I don’t get how. It will still be “unofficial” until something can be drafted about it.”

“Well, yes, but when it does become official, we can say that you already know the basics… without even actually going through the basics.”

“Again: unofficially. Why do it at all when I will have to go through it again in an “official” capacity anyway?”

Rhodey opened and then closed his mouth, “Are those for the Stark Expo next year? Because you’re complaining a lot less than you usually do.”

Toni groaned, “Overseeing the security for that thing was a nightmare. I’m thinking about activating Jocasta and be done with the whole thing. Oh, Jay? Remind me to ask Pepper if Coulson contacted us.”

 _“He did, Miss.”_ J.A.R.V.I.S confirmed, _“Ms. Potts instructed me to tell you once it became relevant.”_

Toni smiled at the Pepper’s well-played move, “Thanks, Jay. And?”

_“Agent Coulson seems to believe when Ms. Potts told him about your… erratic behavior. With the list compiled by us, she led Agent Coulson to believe that you have genuinely forgotten appointments and meetings and while Miss at times misses meetings, you never “pretended” to have forgotten them and Ms. Potts said as much. Your recent extravagant expenses in the expansion of SI’s fields. And at times, Ms. Potts has apparently seen you wince in pain, but she believes to be because of Iron Woman outings. At first glance, Agent Coulson took the bait.”_

“Couldn’t have done better.” Toni smiled wider. Memory loss, impulsiveness, chronic pain…

Rhodey just watched. Not knowing how to feel that some shadow organization took advantage of Toni while she was suffering from heavy metal poisoning.

Palladium had low toxicity. When Toni told him, Rhodey made sure to look everything there was on Palladium. So for the effects to show in a blood work… how long was Toni in pain, suffering and not telling them anything? And even if she didn’t, what does it say about them that they didn’t notice?

But that wasn’t true, was it? Rhodey managed to wrangle that much out of her. Toni did tell him. Last time, Rhodey caught her while she was almost going to the ground because of the migraines, nerve pain and muscle cramps. He helped her to her desk where the Palladium cores were stored and saw the smoking device. So, how and why in the world Rhodey decided to still take the armor after seeing that? He was coming up blank and knowing Toni, they didn’t talk about anything last time, so she didn’t know either.

Pepper and Happy… her friends of years didn’t notice but S.H.I.E.L.D, some… half-assed attempt of an organization noticed the problem and had some sort of solution ready? For a price, of course. Rhodey’s head snapped up when he was called.

“What I’m working on, it’s for Bruce, the contract for the new Hulk toys will arrive tomorrow afternoon all signed up. This is it.” Toni leaned back in her seat.

The Colonel threw her a solemn glance and tried to push his thoughts down for the sake of the current conversation, “How is he?”

“Bruce is… not dealing with it. Sometimes I think that I will find an empty bedroom and sometimes he is so distracted by the projects he can finally pick up again that I don’t think he really stopped to think what is coming.”

“So we’re screwed.”

“… no…?”

“But that just filled me with confidence, Tones.” Rhodey opened a water bottle and went back to revising his own paperwork.

Toni deadpanned, “I will try to talk to him but I’m not sure I’m the best person… perhaps Pepper will have better results.”

“First, why aren’t you the best person? And second, why is Pepper better?”

“Eh, that rhymed.”

“Toni!”

“Ok!” She held her hands up, “Bruce made a good point: if he does this, it means that he will have my life, meaning no private life. C’mon, Rhodey, Americans gossip about whether I drink black coffee or a latte. They made a poll about it.”

“I never understood that poll. They get it wrong all the time, since when you like that pumpkin thing?”

“… now who is going a tangent?” Even as she thought that she never even tried those pumpkin lattes. Something about it just didn’t sound right… pumpkin in a coffee cup…

“Sorry, my bad. Well, Banner will have to figure this out sooner rather than later. I thought it was a done deal after the Hulk tees in Christmas.”

“Turns out that there are tee shirts for anything these days, no one bats an eye to anything anymore, so we need a more aggressive approach. The toys and other merch will be out for public consumption alongside Bruce’s... uh... rejoining society, I guess. Hey, is it even legal to have stuff that says “FBI”?” Toni asked remembering their PR explaining why there was no reaction whatsoever to the Hulk T-shirts.

“… I have no idea.”

~*~

Toni and Rhodey watched with a sense of dread as Kimball finished talking to Bruce who seemed to be a thousand miles away. With a pointed look, Rhodey bid goodbye.

“Dr. Banner, do you still have any questions before the release?”

“Uh... ah, no.”

Toni suppressed the sigh working its way out of her mouth. Kimball nodded to the both of them and left.

 _To hell with it_. The billionaire’s forte was never subtlety.

“Bruce you do understand that after this you can’t just disappear again when things get hard, right?”

The physicist glanced back at her, startled at her presence which means that he had to be very distracted, her high heels weren’t exactly marble friendly.

“I... what?”

“You signed multiple contracts with these merchandize and another one with SI’s new physics division… and I really should have ordered it based on priority, never mind. There are already several dozens of physicists of various fields on transit right now for you to interview them, programs about internships and colleges expressing interest are already calling. You’re creating roots that are not easy to leave behind unattended, Bruce.”

“I understand that, Toni.” Bruce assured her but Toni wasn’t so easily convinced.

The billionaire paused a little to gather her thoughts, “Bruce… when I approached you,” now and back in the first time, “I knew that you were a flight risk. And I can respect strategic retreat, you can’t defuse a bomb, get away from the blast. But the moment you take so many responsibilities, walking away gets really hard because people are depending on you.”

“Even at the cost of their lives?”

Toni raised an eyebrow at Bruce’s bitter tone. Still better than the physicist being so distracted that she just **_knew_** that he was avoiding thinking about it.

“Bruce… let’s put aside my own personal opinion about the Hulk’s anger control for now,” **_for now_** , “the people you’ll be working with are pretty smart, obviously,” she waited for the begrudging smile and wasn’t disappointed, “so I think they know the risks. Now the question is, why would they chance being in danger of a Hulk Out versus the possibility to work with us and decide that it is worth it?”

“They’re crazy?” The billionaire was almost impressed at the speed of the quip.

“Maybe,” she shrugged much to Bruce’s amusement, “you gotta be a little crazy to pursue some of the projects I read for the new division.”

“As long as they can back it up explaining how they will make them feasible…” Her fellow genius shrugged.

“But also, Bruce, they thought that the opportunity to work with Dr. Robert Bruce Banner was worth it. If you drop everything, what will happen to them and their jobs, their whole lives?”

Bruce sighed deeply and rubbed his face, “You can always take my place as head of the whole thing.”

“… you do know that the contract was written with your name on it, right? And although I’m pretty good myself, Toni Stark is not what they signed up for. Of course, I guess those hundreds of employees can always sue me and call it a day. At least SI is not involved to take the heat.” Ok, Toni was laying it on thick but not like she was telling any lies.

“Wow, that was subtle.”

“… I think you already know me well enough to realize that I don’t do subtle.”

The physicist nodded with a half-smile, “Thanks, Toni. And thanks for doing this… uh… intervention, so nicely too.”

“You thought that was me being nice?” That boggled her a little.

“I think I saw enough of your interviews to know what you are like when you’re on the offense. You could have called me an irresponsible simpering baboon that was so busy drowning in my own incompetence to notice when my dick was on fire let alone my workstation.” And it was delivered in a perfect deadpan.

She had a bland expression on. Remembering the incident from a couple of years back with one of her employees, “…that idiot could have blown up the entire building. It’s one thing for the engineering department to have things catch on fire and **_immediately_** put it out, it’s another for the chemists to have things catch on fire mere feet away from the gas tanks and not even notice it.”

~*~

“He has a very good resume.” Pepper handed the files to her. Ugh, paper. Toni really needed to make time to upgrade that.

“Ok… Matt Murdock… top of his class and shows interest in a PhD. And Jennifer Walters?” The inventor looked up.

“She is… more discreet.” Pepper struggled with the word.

“Problem?” the inventor raised an eyebrow.

“You seem to be focusing a lot more on Walters but Murdock **_is_** more qualified. He published more, has more papers to his name. Perhaps Walters is focusing on the basics, but her curriculum will suffer for it.”

 _… Jennifer loves her job and knows the importance of a long CV… more and more, it’s looking like Jennifer has… “gone green”._ Toni nodded to Pepper but, “I think SI can benefit from low profile professionals. This last year we lost quite the number in personnel. To this day Happy is still finding more employees that were in Ob- Stane’s pocket.”

The redhead grimaced softly. Unable to disagree, Pepper made a note in her tablet.

Toni made sure that Pepper knew her plans for both lawyers before turning her attention to the email sent by General Andaz. He would be personally involved in her assessment, seeing to her knowledge of military protocol and thrilled that she was in the process of getting an international law degree.

The excuse is to avoid breaking laws on international soil as a private citizen using what amounts to, Rhodey was right in calling, a super tank in human shape. But another reason is her expansion plans for SI and establishing that she has professional and official basis. The degree would open more doors if and when – who was she kidding, it was “when” – there was an incident. Although the plan was to… **_not_** be like Rogers and co that couldn’t even be bothered to explain what the hell happened, Toni also wanted to solidify another model to follow: proving your competency. A degree may not tell how skilled you are at certain area, but it proves that you are competent to do it.

No more winging it. No more, “learning doing it”. Experience told her what a tragically horrible idea that was.

Toni snorted. She gives credit when credit is due. It took her almost three months to find out why the hell Rogers, Romanoff, Maximoff and Wilson were in Lagos that time.

After Siberia, after she healed enough, Toni was bombarded by questions from all sides about pretty much everything. Even about stuff that she honestly didn’t know the answer to, like why in the world did Steve and Sam got themselves involved in Bucharest? And why were the Avengers in Lagos?

The billionaire gave some answer… of some sort to squirrel away and took to try and find the information by herself.

No paperwork (digitalized or not), no need to log entry and no need to explain or report themselves to anything or anyone and, well, it took her a while to figure Lagos out and Toni still didn’t know why Steve and Wilson decided to interfere. The most she managed to get was that they were after Rumlow, but that made no sense. The man wasn’t exactly subtle and that was the first time that Steve thought that he was worth enough to spend resources on. Before that, Rumlow already hit Europe and Asia and no one ever said anything about going after him. But she gave the people the answers she managed to scramble.

Incredibly enough, reports and crowds backed off her after a few interviews. As iron clad as Toni knew her poker face was, she still needed something to work with, she didn’t just get things from a black hole after all. And it was clear as day that Toni knew very little of what happened.

Filling out form after form and liaising with government officials was the peak of boredom, but it was such an insignificant price to pay for what the world would get in return and Toni was determined to create a better future this time around.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Toni’s reasoning from chapters 2 and 10 is still valid: Rhodey’s report had value because he could be professional. But after using the armor, there is no way that people wouldn’t call it bribery or at least some manipulation from Toni’s part.
> 
> But her hands were tied in Bruce’s case, so they came up with another solution: approach someone that would match all their criteria. No affiliations with either Toni, Rhodey or Bruce meaning that he would be taken as an unbiased party. Someone of high enough rank but that also didn’t have a friendly connection to Ross (for obvious reasons). Someone that also was pretty neutral to the idea of Enhanced… and someone that didn’t mind spending hours sitting on his ass.
> 
> That is actually one of the very few good decisions Marvel took: keeping Rhodey as a Lt. Colonel (limit being Colonel) any higher and Rhodey would spend a lot more time behind a desk than behind a control panel of a jet.
> 
> I love Tony with all my heart. But he had no legal authority whatsoever to get into another country, destroy seemly random stuff and go back home. And yet we see in Iron Man 2008 that addressing the public is common practice for Tony (as is addressing his own government in IM2). The most logical conclusion is a mix of overwhelming public approval, transparency (roll eyes at MCU) and Tony’s own experience in dealing with international matters. Put it all together and we have Tony balancing himself in the limit of doing what he “had to do” and not step on any toes.
> 
> That would be a more or less sustainable situation… if the Avengers didn’t exist. The second that this group with such a heavy connection with a shadow organization that no one is supposed to know that even exists… then one of the pillars Tony was using as a base crumbled: transparency. (Adding the fact that none of the others ever say anything to anyone and governments are “corrupt of full of red tape” and we only ever have popularity to keep them going… which is clearly not enough, throwing money around can only go so far).
> 
> This chapter was basically me laying very heavy the competency… and proving your competency in a concrete way. When people begin to realize what Toni was doing (not the manipulation bit… that one will take a lot longer for anyone – sans Rhodey – to even have a hint, lol) there will be no way out ^^.
> 
> Something occurred to me: not explaining anything to anybody… not even to accuse people!!... does anyone even know that Steve and Sam got all close and personal in Bucharest because “someone” told them that there was a “shoot on sight order”? And it’s not like they needed to fill out (le gasp) paperwork… so… without convenient exposition from the movie, all the public would see is two Americans CRAZIES (three with Barnes) and a Wakandan (as the only one with a public reason – but of course, not because he explained anything to anybody) destroying stuff and killing officials of the law… the directors didn’t think this one through, uh?
> 
> Same thing with Lagos. Since it would “take too much time” and it’s “red tape”, does EVEN Tony know that they were in Lagos because of Rumlow? Does ANYONE?


	20. Girl Power: Execution Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't kill me!! *cries* either way, I have seven chapters already written out after this one. However I will be posting a new chapter when I have at least ten chapters ahead. So it will prolly take some time. I really want to have some wiggle room.

July 2009

.

Toni’s feet were getting tired. As used as she was to high heels they were still hellish so she gracefully sat down in one of the benches to wait. Good thing she did that because it was only in another hour that Jennifer Walters got out of court from her first case since passing the bar exam.

Much like Bruce, Jennifer was unassuming. Although just as tall as Toni at 5’10, her lean body was hidden in slightly too big formal suits – just enough to soften her curves – wavy medium length brown hair and the occasional use of glasses did a lot to make her pass unnoticed in a crowd.

Although shier and more hesitant than her green counterpart, Jennifer the lawyer was no wallflower so Toni was of the opinion that her discretion was by design.

Walters’ high heels scrapped against the floor as their owner registered who was waiting in front of her.

Toni was wearing a more discreet grey business suit and matching pants, her hair tied up and wearing sunglasses while she typed in her phone. With her head lowered, not many saw Toni Stark.

 _She is pretty observant_.

“Jennifer Walters?” She got up.

“… yes.” The brown eyes she shared with Bruce were peering at her with the same suspicion, if less wariness.

“My name is Toni Stark and I would like to schedule a meeting with you.” The inventor handed the lawyer her card. A completely black card with just a cellphone number in red font.

Walters took it but didn’t avert her eyes from her, “May I ask what this is about?”

“You may. It’s about a job offer.”

The woman’s eyes went wide at that and Toni suppressed a smile.

~*~

Pepper quickly typed in her tablet as she waited. Unknowingly mimicking Toni, she was working as she rested her sore-from-high-heels feet while subtly keeping an eye for the people that left the room.

Even though her red hair gathered some attention, not many linked her to Toni Stark or anything Stark really. A sore point for her: due to her red hair, Pepper has more difficulty blending in the crowd than Toni does. _How is that even possible_? She thought a little put out.

Immediately recognizing the brown-haired man in dark red shades with a white cane, Pepper put her tablet back in her bag and stood up.

Narrowing her eyes, the PA could have sworn that Matt Murdock seemed to pause a little before resuming his walk. If Pepper didn’t know any better, she would say that Murdock heard her standing up. But there was no noise against the floor nor did she need to open her handbag’s zipper.

“Mr. Murdock?” She just watched with raised eyebrows as her voice seemed to startle the man. Almost tripping him in fact.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know… oh… I’m sorry. Yes, I’m Matt Murdock.” And he hesitantly extended his hand the tiniest bit too far to her right.

Pepper didn’t quite know what to make of the man. The visual deficiency wasn’t a problem for her, there were plenty SI employees with visual or other kinds of disabilities, it’s just… Murdock didn’t really act like them. She couldn’t really put her finger on what exactly was different but taking into account that Pepper thought that Murdock stopped for a moment when she got up without making a single noise and… she would **_almost_** say that he was faking his disability.

Shaking off the feeling but making a mental note to comment about it to Toni, Pepper shook his hand.

“My name is Virginia Potts and I am here on behalf of Dr. Anastasia Stark to schedule a meeting with you pertaining a job offer.”

~*~

“Next on the list, Jay?” Toni fastened the jet’s seatbelt.

_“Ms. Jones’s detective license was just mailed to her.”_

“We will set up a meeting in a couple of weeks. We need to focus on Rhodey’s PR, with the Air Force knowing that Rhodey used the armor I have no idea if they would still get him to make Iron Woman’s evaluation or if they’ll think that now his opinion is compromised.”

_“Miss said that Colonel Rhodes had already used a Power Armor before writing the report on Iron Woman presented before the Senate in 2010.”_

“In the first timeline, Rhodey used Mark II as recreation. Just to get a kick out of it. That’s why he already knew how to use the armor when I goaded him into taking it. So he never felt the need to go to his CO and say anything about it. But Harlem and Culver? The only thing missing was the paperwork to classify the whole thing as a mission. I don’t begrudge him for telling, Jay, but now I have no idea what is going to happen in that hearing.”

_“I shall warn you if the Air Force make any changes.”_

“Thanks.” She watched as New York became an outline of buildings before settling more comfortably.

She wasn’t exactly or happy or unhappy to be back in New York but as the jet ascended and took off, Toni couldn’t help the sigh of relief.

Toni was raised in New York. It should feel like home. But it was the stage of too many betrayals and lies.

The inventor snorted. California should be it, right? The guy that she called Uncle Obie sold **_her_** weapons under **_her_** table, then commissioned to have her killed, then tried to kill her himself… twice… the first time being in her own house. And then random people invading her house… well, not random, S.H.I.E.L.D people invading her house and her company.

And New York wasn’t even the stage of **_too_** many betrayals. The Chitauri wasn’t a betrayal and Killian was also in California and it was hardly a betrayal either before she permanently moved to New York. Rogers was in Siberia and there was no Russian spy sent to get… whatever is it that she was trying to do.

To this day, Toni wasn’t sure what Natasha was going for there because that bullshit profile was just ridiculous. She had some theories but no way to really prove them.

In any case… New York shouldn’t be associated to such harsh feelings and yet…

_“Incoming call, Mr. Harold Hogan.”_

“Put him through.” Toni took out her tablet to get some work done.

_“Hey, Boss, how was the other coast?”_

“Well, I enjoyed the hot dog stand by Central Park.”

_“I hope that’ll be all you’ll miss ‘cause it’s done.”_

She smiled, “You…”

_“I did it. Top from bottom. Just so you know, most of Obadiah’s cronies were in the acquisition.”_

“Not surprisingly.”

_“I guess not. But, Boss?”_

“Yep?”

_“There are some new and old faces… and they are… off. I won’t pretend to understand all the legalese but I don’t think background checks should be waved away so easily in some of these hires… that are in charge of hiring. There was some stirring in HR that I think you should take a look.”_

“HR? Human Resources? I…” Toni stopped. She could have slapped herself.

The first time around, Toni cleaned house personally. Not letting anyone else get involved, barely involving the FBI and CIA and the military because they had the right to know why the tech that used to be on their side was now killing their own. But she fell into her own trap. Learned her lesson too late. So much for letting the professionals do what they studied and trained to do.

_“Boss?”_

“Happy… you are a beautiful human being and I owe you a raise and all expenses paid vacations.”

_“… You do remember what happened the last time I took some time off, right?”_

“… I was kidnapped again. Whatever.”

~*~

August, 2009.

.

New York.

.

Toni made a face. Was it little wonder that Americans thought that they were the center of the world with everybody and everything happening in New York?

Ok, a fairer assessment is that New Yorkers just called more attention to themselves. Toni was aware of a group of Enhanced in Moscow, Russia. The country’s answer to the Avengers as it was. Russia didn’t fear the Avengers one bit, meaning that they were confident in their own heroes, and yet they did their jobs and didn’t make headlines left and right.

And if that wasn’t a kick in U.S’ nuts, Toni didn’t know what was. If things weren’t so… perhaps “bad” wasn’t a good word, “tense” was a better a description, between Russia and U.S.A she would be so very tempted to reach out.

Well, Toni was perfectly willing to wait for the British group of Enhanced she knew was formed in the aftermath of 2012’s Chitauri Invasion to make good with other groups of Enhanced so there is that.

Knocking on the door and not being the least bit surprised at the barked response, Toni opened it.

Everything was surprisingly tidy considering the heavy stench of whiskey in the air and the dark look on the equally dark woman in front of her.

“Toni Stark.” And one would be fooled into believing that Jones was perfectly sober if it not for the smell… and the many empty bottles surrounding the trashcan.

“Jessica Jones.” She shot back and took a seat.

“I’d be surprised but I have just finished my third bottle.” But there was something in Jones’ attitude that tipped Toni off.

Did she already meet with Murdock? Jewel and Daredevil… Power Man and Iron Fist… the Defenders if everything goes right.

Well, that could wait because honestly, the Defenders can take care of themselves and if they couldn’t they would hardly come to her. “I am here to hire your services. I understand that your specialty is tracking and uncovering alias, but I have reached my own limits to find out what I need.”

With a last gulp, Jones put the bottle down and leveled her a glance that was almost a glare, “What is it that you need?”

.

October, 2009.

.

_“We now conclude investigations in Stark Industries about the weapons found in Afghanistan. Which we now know played a part in Toni Stark’s kidnapping back in January 20, 2008. Dr. Stark was found by U.S’ Air Force in April 20, 2008 and since then have been very accommodating to our inquiries. Dr. Stark has been cleared of manslaughter charges, but we are still in talks with the DA if there was negligence in chain of custody. The Mill/Aerospace laws are very clear on that but so far files and weapons requests found in Obadiah Stane’s personal computer in Stark Industries point to faulty and, supposedly decommissioned missiles being sold under the table. Due to conflict of interests, the investigation is being conducted by the ICC while Stark Industries’ head of security gives access to personnel information after a warrant was acquired.”_

“But that is a whole lot of nothing.” Toni muttered, impressed despite herself.

“General Andaz knows how to play the game, Toni. He might be called Paper Lover, but he is fair and he knows that going after you won’t amount to anything.” Rhodey turned a page in some magazine he found lying around.

The billionaire turned incredulous blue eyes towards him. “You kidding me? The whole military was raging mad that I shut down the weapons division.”

Her friend rolled her eyes. “The man almost never went to the field in his entire career. Weapons are not the way to lure Andaz.”

“You think that the fact that we approached Andaz about laws with Enhanced in mind… there will be talks that we tempered with… witness?”

“First: you’re watching too much Law and Order. Second: tempered with what? We have on official records that we were only talking about Enhanced regulations, we didn’t even know that Andaz would be the one to help conduct the investigation into Obadiah after, what? Weeks later?”

“People distort anything they want, Rhodey.” She felt the need to point out the obvious.

“I’m not worried,” he shrugged, “it’s easy to come up with some fantasy but everything is above board, Toni.”

“Proving a negative needs evidence of absence… and that basically amounts to burying evidence and you have to admit that the CEO of the company not knowing the shit going on right below her nose is not… very believable.”

“… again: too much Law and Order and again: I’m not worried, Toni.”

“It’s another series I was binge watching but it won’t premiere until 2011.”

Rhodey suddenly looked up and turned to stare at her face, “You told me that last time, you fixed this,” he motioned to the muted screen, “very quietly and basically made Obadiah fade into the background.”

“… I was actually hopping to talk about “Suits” but ok, yes I did.”

“So why the change? Please tell me it’s not because of the Maximoffs because you can’t please everyone, Toni.”

“Oh, I’m very well aware of that.” Toni grimaced.

When she was still contributing to arming the military, the government was happy, and the liberal crowd was protesting at her doors. When she shut it down, the government – not to mention the vets and the families of militaries – were raging and the liberal crowd never let her forget about her past. There was no making **_anyone_** happy, really. Generally speaking, at least.

“I am just… tired of being blamed for it.”

“If that’s it… then good. I don’t know how I reacted the first time around but just the idea of covering for that bastard is already making me see red, Tones.”

“You didn’t react all that better last time, Rhodey. You were just too distracted by the “I am Iron Woman” interview to really pay attention to the rest.” Which was actually a happy accident instead of planned out in her part.

“Yeah,” he drawled, “You’re going to tell me that you didn’t call attention to it so we wouldn’t talk about Obadiah?”

“I plead the fifth.” Toni teased a little.

“And I don’t want to know about this… “Suits”.”

“No! Wait! I want to talk about Harvey and Mike!” She followed him.

Rhodey was hiding a laugh and heading towards the elevator when he caught some building plants at the corner of his eye.

“What is this?” He stopped so abruptly that Toni almost crashed against his back.

She looked over his shoulder and shrugged hers, “It used to be the Avengers Compound. It was an old storage from Howard’s time and since I really wanted them out of the Tower, I gave them the property.”

“You “gave them”?”

“Not so much as “gave” since they would have no way to pay the bills or the taxes as… became their land lady and never got rent… not really all that different from when they were living at the Tower but I really didn’t want to be around Maximoff.”

“… that… the more you talk about them, Toni, the more nightmarish the whole situation becomes in my head. Can we just never go to New York? What is the worse that could happen?”

The young woman stopped to think about it.

“If I maintain SI’s headquarters here then the Chitauri Invasion will probably happen here.”

“And…?”

“I guess that’s it.”

“And this compound place?”

“I am actually torn between using that building for Stark Unlimited or founding the Yinsen Academy.” Toni revealed.

“What?”

“Stark Unlimited is the name I decided for the project of the harder sciences. It’s still connected to me and Stark Industries once they see its value, if only for PR’s sake, but still separated that if anything happens to one or the one, the whole thing won’t domino to the ground.”

“I liked it. “With no limits”. And Yinsen Academy?”

“I figured that whatever team is formed, not the Avengers so stop looking at me like that, needs a HQ.”

“For logistics I suppose you’re right, but it doesn’t have to be you, Toni.”

Rhodey was plain worried that Toni would fall into old habits and just the thought of those leeches taking her for granted was making his head pound.

“Don’t worry, Rhodey. I know all that. That’s why I am already drawing some contracts for Stark Unlimited and Yinsen Academy is where we could have the trainees.”

“ ** _You’re_** a trainee.”

“Hey…!” She trailed off.

Rhodey sighed, “Oh, god. What now?”

“In 2015, Scott Lang will be contacted by Hank Pym.”

“And he is important? Who even **_are_** Hank Pym and Scott Land?”

“Lang,” she corrected absently, “and Pym are… I’m not quite sure what to call them. Either way, Pym developed some suit that could shrink people to the size of ants while preserving their mass, shortening the space between atoms.”

“Ok?” Rhodey prompted, still not seeing the relevance.

“He punches too hard and he can kill someone, too soft and people don’t even feel it. Good for infiltration in the old days.”

“Old days meaning before cameras with the zoom feature?” Rhodey wasn’t sure where this was going but Toni always had a point to her blabber if the (un)willing audience paid enough attention.

“I guess? Anyway, it seems that Pym hired Lang to steal some stuff… **_to_** steal some other stuff. I didn’t really pay much attention. I was swamped with the restoration efforts in Sokovia at the time. But there was a signal decoy prototype in the Compound that Pym needed Lang to steal to do something else.”

“Oh. And now you think they’ll come after the new location?”

“Well, I mean… I just decided on the name Stark Unlimited and it wasn’t very advertised that I am basically hoarding talent in the last semester but still, he is supposed to be some geneticist… bio-engineer genius. I think.”

“Another guy that you didn’t pay much attention to? Didn’t he steal from you?”

“The Compound was in SI’s name not mine, so Pepper was the one to handle it.” Toni shrugged.

“Why didn’t you tell me about them before?” He was curious. Not that it seemed that they were that important but SI being right smack in the middle of another tech theft was sure to send Toni into control freak mode, the fact that it didn’t…

“I honestly just forgot all about it. Pepper handled the whole thing and I don’t even know what happened later… actually I barely knew what happened then, I just found out about the theft and Pepper handling it when it was over and done. I didn’t even know Lang was the one that did it until way after the whole Civil War disaster when Pepper became… well, I thought her head was going to explode when she recognized Lang from the airport’s security footage and **_then_** she explained to me who the hell Lang… and Pym were.”

“Do you know why they needed a signal decoy?”

“Nope.” She glanced back helplessly, “But I **_am_** tracking Lang and Pym. So far Pym was ousted from his own company by one vote and Lang is basically a non-entity, I don’t even know how they even met… will meet.”

“Waiting game.” They said in unison.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, with Matt being basically a human lie detector he would know that Toni was hiding something, and Toni knows that too… in comes Pepper *grins*.
> 
> Toni being poster girl for transparency, then after slapping NDAs around, she would give access to some files (never projects), so many people interested and even those that think that by cleaning house she would go back to manufacturing weapons, and they would be bound to pick something up. In this case; Happy, that takes his duties very seriously… a little too seriously if we take IM3 in consideration still.
> 
> That has the added benefit of putting the blame firmly on Obadiah, Toni won’t hide from her responsibility of not knowing what the hell was going in her own company but she is not gonna blame herself or let other people blame her for what Obadiah did… and if that cuts the Maximoffs at the legs *shrugs*.
> 
> I am binge watching Suits and all the legalese is getting to my head…
> 
> The fact that Scott introduced himself as he stole the Compound but Tony had no idea who he was a year later says everything about how much time Tony spent thinking about them (Scott, Hank, Hope, etc) and that’s also another argument that the Compound wasn’t in Tony’s name (seriously that someone steal something from him and the 2008!Tony that was stabbed in the back with people stealing his tech just poofed out of existence?) so Pepper would be the one the handle it.


	21. Interlude: (Crossing T's) - Family Reunion Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be published in December, 18 ;))

.

November, 2009.

.

California, Malibu.

.

More than a year and half for getting things where they are. Target-audience focusing on kids did its job: it flew right under Ross’ radars but Hulk’s popularity skyrocket after people started to question who this Hulk was. And in comes the comic books that Toni was religiously saving in a hard drive.

“You know,” Rhodey started while reading his own copy of “Incredible Hulk”, “this whole thing you’re doing with Bruce… it does remind me of Captain America’s… propaganda.”

Just like Rhodey didn’t glance up from his comic book, Toni didn’t either from where she was working on the repulsor tech, “Hmmm, why try to fix what’s not broken?”

“I know that I never told you this. But you are devious.”

“I know.” Toni kept working with a smirk on her face.

Because after all, if Ross wants to dispute the whole thing, they would use the precedent set by Captain America himself. America’s golden boy. America’s ARMY golden boy.

This not only had the advantage of… well… taking advantage of dear, old Captain America’s image, the image that he unknowingly used every single time he fucked up to protect Bruce, but Bruce being the seemly lose cannon that he is, would also make people stop and think before just taking what they think they know at face value.

And yet, unlike with Steve Rogers, the whole “propaganda” around the Hulk was the truth.

The comics were one of the most popular and there are empty shelves all around due to this being, in one way or another, “the real world”, based on something that actually happened. Just like Captain America started.

But Bruce wasn’t about to green light the Hulk punching Hitler or the Hulk saving the world from some threat or the other because that never happened. What did happen was Hulk’s human alter-ego improving the quality of life of an entire village once he taught them what seeds to plant in what soil. What happened was the Hulk’s human alter-ego using what medical knowledge he had to improve the health of whoever he came across. The Hulk choosing to lure the military – unidentified military, of course – away from the very small town he was close by.

For now, there was nothing on who was the human alter-ego. There is a total of six issues telling many tales about the Hulk’s transformations, what triggers him, what doesn’t trigger him – which also has the added benefit of blocking any attempts should anyone try to put Maximoff on the team if Johannesburg happens. And the mysterious alter-ego that hints at what happened and who he is, but never names… because the focus was on the Hulk at the end of the day.

“That is one thin line you’re toying with.” Bruce wasn’t sure whether he was amused or embarrassed by the comics. They were his thoughts and life and opinions and conclusions being exposed. It was like seeing his diary published, but in a comic book.

Then again, he knew what he was getting into when he finally and fully accepted Toni’s help. This was the first step: gather support for the Hulk, for him. And it was already working. Enough that Toni and Bruce’s personally assigned lawyers decided that it was the time for Toni to start coaching Bruce for his first ever interview right alongside Kimball, her trusty PR of six years. When J.A.R.V.I.S announced that her new lawyers just arrived in Malibu.

“Uh.”

“What is it?” Bruce already knew her long enough, and paid enough attention, to know that a segue will follow.

“I have been planning this since 2008… and I would be lying if I say that you weren’t a factor. I care about you, Bruce, so I didn’t want you to do this without emotional support. And the people I chose are uniquely skilled for what I need. So I guess that this wasn’t solely based on you.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Back in July, New York’s legal bar approved new members. Among them, Mathew Murdock that I intend to consult about the Hulk and all matters of Enhanced being involved in international relief efforts and that’s already a full-time job so we’ll see how today’s meeting will go and what we can expect from one another.”

“Makes sense to have someone solely focused on that.” Bruce nodded, still confused to where this was going.

“Right. And he would lead the team of lawyers that I plan to hire just for that because I don’t want any mistakes that Iron Woman makes to reflect on SI.”

“Very responsible.”

“Thanks. And speaking about SI, since I have cleaned house because of Obadiah, I also need some new people. Neutral people to work for SI, spearheading the new changes. I managed to get an airtight deal to permanently close the weapons division, but I also need new personnel to replace the ones I lost.”

“Also makes sense.”

“One of which… is Jennifer Walters.”

And Bruce’s thoughts came to screeching halt.

“Bruce?” Toni asked and received no answer.

After a few minutes with her friend being non-responsive, Toni sat down in the couch in front of him and reached for her tablet to work a bit.

A few minutes later, Bruce moved, and Toni turned off her StarkPad.

“When did you cont… when did you decide to contact her?”

“Not long before I gave my interview revealing that I am Iron Woman.” Toni never felt comfortable lying with straightforward questions to people she cared about.

And yet, she inwardly winced, she was already lying, wasn’t she?

Especially to Happy and Pepper.

Sure, the Palladium was the main contentious point in the previous timeline but this time around she was hiding… universe-level altering events.

And yet that conversation ended with both Happy and Pepper more than glad that they would get information when it was relevant for them to know. Neither were people that liked to be on the sidelines when their loved ones were in danger but they both admitted that this will most likely be the case if it was something that they simply can’t help with. Emotional support or not.

Toni was doing the same to Bruce though and it was beginning to eat at her. So she was relieved to finally tell him at least about Jennifer.

“Why?” he took a deep breath once Bruce realized that he almost gritted out the question.

“Because she **_is_** a perfect fit for the job. Her cases were mostly about business and administrative law with federal and civil suits. Not for the Enhanced, but a truly perfect fit for SI.”

“And it doesn’t have anything to do with the fact that she is my cousin.” He snarked. Bruce had no doubt that Toni knew, and he had no idea how to feel about any of this. He wasn’t feeling betrayed or used… at least not yet but…

“I never said that. But… I was going to help you no matter what, that doesn’t mean I like to go into situations blind, Bruce. I did my research before approaching you. Mostly psych evals and any living relatives. Jennifer was well-hidden, even I had trouble finding her.” Her files at least.

“What exactly did you do? How did you find her? Actually, what do you know?” His eyes were toxic-green, and Toni has never been afraid of the Hulk and she wasn’t about to start now.

Even as the camera’s lights blinked warningly, saying that JARVIS didn’t share her trust.

“I was looking through the files compiled by S.H.I.E.L.D.”

“S.H.I.E.L.D?”

“Statistic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistic Division.”

“Meaning?”

Toni opened her mouth and then she realized that she would need to go backwards a little, “Ok… uh… I don’t know how much you know about SI, so here we go. My father was too young to be drafted for the Second War, but not **_too_** young. He founded SI at sixteen but at nineteen and with the War with no end on sight made him worried enough to pitch the government that he could do more good as a weapons manufacturer than on the frontlines. Heh,” she chuckled humorlessly, “I wonder how he felt when the War ended, and he was still just twenty. Still, I can hardly blame him.”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“I’m getting to that.” Toni promised. “Roosevelt founded the Strategic Scientific Reserve. It was a top-secret Allied agency responsible for recruiting Abraham Erskine and ultimately for Project Rebirth.”

“I… read about that when I got involved with the Gama Project.” Bruce admitted.

“Well, I don’t know how detailed the file you got was, but not long after my father began to develop weapons, the SSR approached him. One presidential approval away and Howard was working in Project Rebirth.”

“I know that too.”

“Ok. After the war ended, the SSR became pretty much redundant. Unneeded if anything… a… uh…”

“Unnecessary drain on resources?” The physicist offered.

“Very well-put.” Toni complimented.

“Thanks.”

“Anyway, that’s not how Peggy Carter saw things. The idea came from her and I don’t know why but Howard and Army Colonel Chester Philips thought it would be a good idea. Together they founded S.H.I.E.L.D. The advertisement they give is that they are about “security” and starting from now this is conjecture on my part.” She warned, “If I have to **_guess_** , they must have said that it is for America’s safety to justify the costs… if Howard didn’t outright pay for it, that is. The international geopolitical relations were hardly stable after all.”

“A more than possible theory.”

“Yeah. In any case, I think it hardly matters by now. What matters is that, from the little I know for sure, a little after the War ended, Carter met a woman named Whitney Frost. She was what S.H.I.E.L.D began to call Enhanced. I don’t know the details, but I know that she kicked Carter’s ass in a straight fight. Once S.H.I.E.L.D was founded, Carter created the Index. Basically, a watch list for potential threats… or at least what they perceived as such.”

“And that’s where you got my “file”.”

“Yes.”

Bruce nodded to himself, snorting, “That is just great. What do they know?”

“Not much. After you got involved in the Gama Project, Ross had a lot of information about you scraped off the records… any records.”

“Because then it would be easier to make me disappear without repercussions.” He sighed.

Toni was silent for a few moments. Her hesitance was less about his reaction than about possibly hurting his feelings, “Bruce… you already disappeared and made half of the job **_for_** Ross.” Her fellow genius winced but didn’t dispute it. Toni took pity on him, “S.H.I.E.L.D doesn’t know about your cousin.”

“So, how do you?”

“Because Ross made a mistake.” Toni was tiptoeing the line, “He erased your records, especially when he saw that you were an orphan. He knew that you have two distant Aunts. One raised you but fell off the grid not long before you turned eighteen, Susan, no one has seen her since. The other died not long after you became a part of the Gama Project, Elaine. He thought there was nothing there. But SI headhunts constantly and Jennifer was in our radar and her records weren’t scrapped and how many Robert Bruce Banners are there in the world?”

_“Speaking of which, Ms. Walters and Mr. Murdock are five minutes away from the Mansion.”_

“I will leave you guys alone while I talk with Murdock.” Toni got up to receive the lawyers.

Bruce was still frozen in place when he heard a woman clearing her throat. Closing his eyes in dread, he got up and turned.

Aside from the same dark chocolate eyes, they didn’t look much alike. They were of the same height, 5’10, if that counts for anything. Even their brown hair was of different tones. His were more of an earth-y curly brown and hers a slightly wavy light chocolate. Aside from that, no one would look at them both and think: uh, relatives. Might as well, since the accident.

“Well?” And she was angry. Great.

“Jen… I’m sorry.”

“Do you even know what you should be sorry for?”

“I know, ok! I’m sorry I ran and I’m sorry I just cut contact, I…”

The fight left Jennifer, “You’re not actually sorry, are you? You know why I’m angry and what you should be sorry for, you’re just not.”

And Bruce’s shoulders also dropped. “No, I’m not.”

The young lawyer made a distressed sound and gathered her cousin into a hug. Resolutely not shedding the tears she could feel building up, Jennifer squeezed his shoulders as hard as she could.

“I missed you, Bruce. So much!”

Bruce returned the hug just as fiercely. “Me too, Jen.”

Once she was sure that this wasn’t a dream and that her cousin was really here to stay if Stark was right, Jen let him go and tried to smile, “Why don’t you tell me what happened?”

“Since we were sixteen, or since the mess started?” He joked a bit.

“Whatever you choose, really.” She sat on the couch and he followed suit.

“Uh… it was after I defended my thesis. My last PhD was about the different ways the genome can adapt to Gama rays. The military approached me and funded the project, they worded things in a way that would imply protection for soldiers or other workers to go into compromised sites and be protected from the radiation.”

As he explained, Bruce couldn’t help but recall all the tells that Ross gave away and, like an idiot, Bruce decided to ignore.

Once he finished, the first question his cousin asked made his snort. An enormous green rage monster and all she can ask about was, “Do you have the original contract Ross hired you under?”

“Toni asked me the same thing. I tried to hack it once, but the whole thing was redacted and what wasn’t, was sealed.”

“Damn it. Do you remember what was in it?”

Bruce sighed, “Yes, I do. But I don’t remember all the fine details and all the little words. I’m not Toni, I don’t have photographic memory.”

“She has photographic memory?” Jennifer asked, surprised.

Bruce winced, “She calls it “eidetic”. She knows it’s not the same thing, but she got used to it because if people knew she has photographic memory…”

“Half of the world wouldn’t believe her, and the other half could use it as argument to crush her business. She wouldn’t be able to go anywhere with a hint of competitor’s proprietary tech.”

“As if she even needs to steal ideas anyways.” The physicist snorted.

“Toni Stark hardly needs more money after all.” But Jennifer was surprised when her cousin shook his head.

“That’s not what I meant. Toni has enough money to spend several lifetimes in some random island living with the lifestyle she has right now. She does what she does because of the company.”

“So Toni Stark hardly needs more money after all.” But Jennifer changed the tone she used and watched as Bruce flushed to the tips of his ears.

“She… has done a lot for me in the last year and a half. Including arranging this meeting, because you know that she could have waved the whole thing away as “not her business”.”

Now the lawyer looked curious, “And the fact that Stark did arrange this meeting doesn’t ring any bells?”

“Toni said that your grades and interests aligned with SI and I believe her. Us meeting would only work against her in the long term if she had other reasons. Perhaps trusting the wrong people bit me very spectacularly in the ass but that has yet to happen with Toni.”

“That fits with what Ms. Potts told me.”

“You talked to Pepper?”

“Right after I met Dr. Stark.” It seemed that the bit he talked about Toni made Jennifer go from “Stark” to “Dr. Stark”.

“And?”

“And she wanted to me to start at Stark Industries’ Legal Department.”

Bruce closed his eyes, a little amused despite himself. “Did she offer you headship of the division?”

“No, and if she had, **_then_** I would know she was full of shit. I just passed the bar, Bruce and I’m smart and good, but I’m not a super genius like you.”

“Fair enough.” He teased and then dodged the pillow thrown in his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For now we are keeping all things Hulk low-profile enough that it wouldn’t raise any alarms for the government or Ross. After all, what Ross cares about some random comic book? But the comics explore and expose a side of Bruce’s and the Hulk’s that is more human but that also makes Bruce feel really vulnerable.
> 
> Anyway, using the same strategy that gave Rogers his halo is one stone and two birds. No one can say shit without putting a dent in America’s golden boy and if they did, once dear Ol’ Cap is recovered… well… how willing would people be to turn a blind eye?
> 
> And YAY!! I was waiting for the Cousins to meet again!! *U*


	22. Girl Power: Execution Part 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not sure when I will be updating 'cause I will be going camping with my family and... no wi-fi...
> 
> Anyhow, happy holidays!!!

January, 2010

.

New York.

.

“Let her in.” Toni adjusted her dress before checking her hair.

 _“Boss!”_ Happy protested from the other side of the line.

“Trust me, Happy. The pros may not be more numerous than the cons, but they do give us more benefits. Especially in the long term.”

 _“Do I want to know?”_ Being SI’s head of security wasn’t what made Happy constantly exasperated, not by a long shot.

But his question made Toni hesitant.

“Ask me again in May.”

_“What?”_

“Ask me again in May.” She repeated as she accepted the clip-on mic.

_“If… I want to know…?”_

“Yes. Put it on the calendar. May, 1.”

Toni adjusted her red tinted glasses and nodded when the aide gave her the thumbs up. Pushing the doors open, Toni expected the millions of flashes and the recorders being thrusted as far as arms could reach from their places.

“It is with great pleasure that I officially announce the Stark Unlimited. Dedicated to STEM fields, be they theoretical or applied, this is place where there are no bounds in science. For the last six months, an old installation in New York is now seeing use again. It used to belong to Howard Stark, when he died, most of his properties went to SI while his patrimony went to me. A year ago, I bought the property to do something that I have been meaning to do since long before I ever went to MIT. A place that won’t be looking to see if the idea is profitable but if it adds to our knowledge of the harder sciences. This isn’t about being famous or to line pockets but to better understand our biology, our world and the universe. Ladies and gentlemen: Stark Unlimited is officially in business.”

And cutting the red ribbon, Toni kept in mind that one Natalie Rushman just got out of her first interview. She kept it in mind even as she fastened her seatbelt and her jet took her back to California.

Since opening her arms open for the investigation into Obadiah, Happy has also been living up to his new position. The man was suspicious and paranoid as they came. Yes, employee complaints are through the roof and the investigation itself was torture, the FBI and CIA and ICC were **_not_** happy… with Happy… or with her but that is pretty much the status quo since she got out of the weapons business. The FBI and CIA were mollified when she presented the new… gadgets for lack of a better term to them. Spy movie like James Bond brought to life. The ICC will be harder to work around, though.

But back to the issue. Natasha was good but Happy took every shadow as a monster and since two years ago when Toni promoted him, he was taking it a lot more seriously than the man that underestimated the little 5’2 legal aid with cleavage showing and was taken down on the ring for it.

A paralegal with those grades and that CV? Why not a lawyer? Well, there was a thousand explanations, professional and personal, for that. But that wasn’t how Harold Hogan operated and Toni knew that when she promoted him this and the previous time. So, she wasn’t the least bit surprised when Natalie Rushman set off every single inner alarm Happy has.

Sure, Natasha did a number on him last time and that played a part on his paranoia… and the employee complaints. But if that last one was anything to go by, the pile wasn’t all that smaller just because they weren’t stabbed in the back.

Toni snorted. Not exactly in the back, more like the neck and not like they ever really and fully trusted Romanoff. Still. Years cultivating trust among employees…

The inventor paused a little.

S.H.I.E.L.D always seemed to be one step ahead. Of how to manipulate her if nothing else. But Toni was 100% confident that no information was leaked by a SI employee, especially not after they cleaned Stane’s greedy little fingerprints from top to bottom. Not when Toni made it her personal goal to cultivate loyalty and trust, and the inventor earned bragging rights with her security protocols. So how the hell did Natasha know that Rhodey couldn’t have taken one of the armors going **_through_ **her security?

For her to have reached that conclusion, Natasha would have to know enough about her security’s details **_and_** that Rhodey didn’t have authorization to take the suit for the security to activate against him at all.

“I am a huge idiot.” But Toni gave credit when credit was due. Those bastards knew how to play the game. She was almost laughing. “J.A.R.V.I.S, call Happy, Rhodey and Pepper. I guess that waiting for Natasha to reach Stark Industries’ CEO is no longer the timeline for me have this conversation with them.”

_“May I ask why not?”_

“Because Obadiah Stane couldn’t have done all that he did right under my nose without more people knowing about it. He would need what everybody needs, regardless of profession: a support system. Enough people to transport, enough to make the right paperwork so it looks legit, enough higher ups to cover the right things.”

_“Yes, Miss, and I thought we already dealt with Stane’s co-conspirators.”_

“We did. But it occurred to me that Natasha is an excellent fighter, an excellent assassin, a so-so if repetitive manipulator… but she is one shitty actress. Five minutes in and she takes Happy down with some martial-arts-black-belt-move?

Now, I have no idea whether that makes her a good spy or not, but I don’t hire idiots. I may have been fooled into thinking that Natasha was one of the good guys, but reaching me and Pepper under the guise of a legal aid? That says that an entire department… make that three departments, were fooled enough to let her pass. Human Resources, Security **_and_** the Legal Department.

I already knew that there was something going on with HR because they spotted some first-year college student that was paid to glance at a formula that he would never even hope to understand in R&D. He didn’t know what he agreed with, for what and barely even why and HR still got him because the transcript in his college interview said that he was interested in microbiology and he interviewed in SI for a possible internship in the biophysics department. HR thought it was off because of a technicality based on a detail.

And yet, we cleaned house… very thoroughly after Stane so how the hell Natasha not only went through HR, Security, Legal Department **_and_** knew enough about my personal security protocols to know that Rhodey shouldn’t have been able to take the armor and that he wasn’t even authorized to take the armor… until a day before when I changed his security pass.

The situation reminds me of Obadiah… Happy actually started it when he mentioned HR six months ago, but until just now, something was bothering me, I knew that I was missing something. Going in guns blazing and installing lie and metal detectors in HR was just gonna tip my hand but now?”

_“… S.H.I.E.L.D have others inside Stark Industries.”_

Toni nodded, still impressed, still incredibly pissed at herself and at S.H.I.E.L.D.

“My father co-founded S.H.I.E.L.D. He cracked the Super Soldier Serum’s formula. And he died transporting the finished product… why would he even be working on that damn thing? Biogenetics was hardly his field. S.H.I.E.L.D. apparently changed tunes about the Serum or perhaps Carter only had problems with Rogers’ blood and not the Serum itself. Whatever the case, Carter knew… and now I must brainstorm how exactly S.H.I.E.L.D got their claws inside SI. If my father allowed it since… S.H.I.E.L.D started or if it was a slow process or if it happened after he died. And whether or not Obadiah also knew.”

Toni sighed heavily and was thankful that the jet was being piloted by J.A.R.V.I.S because not only could she speak freely, she also didn’t think anyone deserved to hear this crap.

J.A.R.V.I.S was silent only for a few moments, _“Miss?”_

“Uh?” The inventor was rubbing her temples.

_“Does it matter?”_

“… excuse me?” for Toni that was completely out of left field.

_“Is it truly important to know how or even why it happened?”_

Her shoulders dropped and she sighed again, “Instead of focusing on how to fix it?”

J.A.R.V.I.S’ silence was enough answer.

The inventor looked out of the window, “I don’t like not knowing things. That’s the shallow answer. The good, still genuine but PR-approved answer is that if we don’t know how it happened, it is bound to happen again. Why change a trick that was never worked out after all?”

_“… If S.H.I.E.L.D inserted anyone that has yet to call attention to themselves, odds are that they are around before Miss took over for Howard Stark.”_

“We hire hundreds of employees on a monthly basis… but not anyone that would have been trusted to this degree, meaning that they had time to gain trust.” She agreed. “How many do you think there are?”

 _“Well, Miss,”_ and J.A.R.V.I.S sounded amused, his sensors clearly picking up on Toni’s expression at the obvious answer, _“I assume that whatever the number, they would be in HR, Security and Legal Departments… and someone high enough to know what to look for in your security systems, so perhaps R &D.”_

“… R&D is sacred, no one touches R&D and gets away with it.”

_“So, saying to Mr. Hogan to allow Ms. Romanova into SI…”_

“Expose the thread for us to pull it. I need you to monitor HR and Legal and find the mole in R&D… moles, if… we need to cover all our bases. Delivering proof upfront. I want to know of everyone that even looks at her for longer than two seconds. I don’t care if it’s envy because of her tight clothes or ogling her because of her tight clothes, I still want to know about it. We didn’t have problems with the other headquarters, so I’m guessing that S.H.I.E.L.D got in deeper in California. Uh, who says that stuff needs to happen in New York?

And that explains why I moved the date of my conversation with Pepper and Happy because I also need them on the lookout for more than just Romanoff. Crap, it’s not even noon yet.” Toni reached out for the expresso machine.

_“In the meantime, may I suggest that Miss gives more specific instructions to Mr. Hogan about Ms. Romanova’s… admittance into SI?”_

The billionaire choked a bit on her coffee and quickly grabbed a napkin, “Uh… yeah, good idea. For our plans to work, we have to let her in the house, but it doesn’t mean that we let her take control of the kitchen.”

_“… an apt description, I suppose, Miss.”_

“My jet, my metaphors.”

~*~

Once back in California, a now completely exasperated Happy escorted her back to the mansion.

“Boss… did you have a good flight?”

“My jets are the smoothest there are, Hap.” Especially once she could focus on other projects that don’t necessarily go boom.

“I’m happy to hear,” pleasantries out of the way, her loyal friend and former bodyguard went right to business after making sure her luggage was secure and taking the driver’s seat, “what is exactly is this?” he waved a tablet at her with one hand and didn’t even meet her eyes in the rear mirror.

“A list of instructions.” And Toni wasn’t surprised when he dropped the tablet.

“I’ll tell you what it is: a headache. You **_know_** that I don’t know how to use these things and now you want me to communicate with you, Pepper and Rhodey exclusively with that gadget?”

“Well, you managed to open the files alright and don’t call that baby a “gadget” and yes, because I personally ensured that it is impossible to hack it, meaning that this “line” is as secure as it can possibly get.”

“You mean you put J.A.R.V.I.S in this thing.” It wasn’t a question.

“No.” Toni held onto her seat and waited a beat, “I put JOCASTA in the StarkPadPro.”

“WHAT?!” The car went to the wrong lane for a few moments.

“I talked with J.A.R.V.I.S and I have decided to activate Jocasta. She integrated J.A.R.V.I.S’ memories and has his go ahead take over all safety aspects while he focus solely on… well… SI’s logistics… and mine. She will handle all matters of security and answer directly to you. But her number one priority is ensuring SI’s safety… and ok, mine as well. She has access to non-lethal weapons installed in the house just like the security cameras, access and who punches at what hour. By then end of Ms. Rushman’s stay, Jocasta will have everything she needs.”

But Toni knew she tipped her hand the second the words were out of her mouth. Biting her lip, she waited for it.

“First: what is JOCASTA’s primary objective?”

Knowing where he was coming from, Toni’s eyes softened a little, and she answered honestly, “Her primary objective is my safety. You know that when I programed them, that was the condition Rhodey had if I ever had to activate them. My safety first.”

“Good. Second: What does that woman have to do with this? Because three weeks before she ever sent over her CV, you specified her by name. Natalie Rushman. I didn’t even **_know_** her name when I sniffed something off and sent the file to you. Imagine my surprise when you have J.A.R.V.I.S delivering…” Happy let out a long-suffering sigh, “a StarkPadPro with a list of instructions that, according to J.A.R.V.I.S, is tailored made for one Natalie Rushman.”

Toni was silent for so long that Happy actually turned around to see if she was ok once they stopped in a red light.

“Pepper and Rhodey will meets us at the mansion. I need to tell you guys something.”

“ ** _Rhodey_** doesn’t know?” Not that Toni never hid things from Rhodey before, but Happy knew from experience that if that was the case, then Toni was in dip shit.

“He knows.” She assured him. Which really relieved him.

“Is it about the Palladium? Is that thing hurting you again?”

“No, it isn’t.”

“Toni… you patented your electric toothbrush, but you didn’t with something that would put your name in history books forever. A new element…”

“I promise you, the Reactor isn’t hurting me anymore.”

~*~

“This is bullshit!” And Toni has no idea what to even say to that because she never once thought that the word would leave Pepper’s mouth, “You asked if “we wanted to know” when you said that the thing keeping you alive was also killing you and we said that we wanted to know when it’s important for us to know! And now you said you’d explain once you could but now you bring us here and you want to give us half of the story now and half after? After what? And what kind of assassin contract is this “half now, half later” crap?”

“It is, actually, a little bit now, and… like… 97% later.”

“Oh, great!”

“Pepper… what Toni is trying to say is that now you and Happy should know what is going on. At least what is important for you to know because we need to prepare.”

But the redhead just whirled around and landed a glare on Rhodey who was completely unrepentant, “You know what is going on?”

“I doubt that I know all the details that Toni knows, but yes.”

“Ok, what you want to tell us?” Happy got the conversation back on track.

“Three weeks ago, one Natalie Rushman sent her CV to HR for a spot as a legal aid. I warned Happy about her but that wasn’t necessary because her CV alone already raised his alarms. She is with Coulson.”

“Son of a bitch.” Happy cursed.

“I’ll get legal.” Pepper was already with her StarkPhone on hand.

“Not yet! Because it occurred to me that she passed her interview and is already getting herself acquittance with legal.”

“And why does that matter?”

Toni turned to look at Pepper. That is actually one of the reasons Toni decided not to give CEO to Pepper this time around. Pepper is wasted talent as a PA and while she retains knowledge and learns like no one else would ever do in the same position, she was still very naïve. Hence: her friendship with Philip Coulson in the first timeline. Toni didn’t stand her friend being used this time around. She didn’t notice that this is what was happening until Coulson and S.H.I.E.L.D appeared out of the sky with a tailor-made strategy to push her buttons.

But if Pepper and “Phil” had some friendly lunches and decided to talk about her… And it was confirmed once S.H.I.E.L.D started to move when Pepper dutifully followed Toni’s instructions to drop a comment or two about her “erratic behavior”.

Pepper was very sharp in business meetings… not so much with what she perceives as someone that is “helping”.

“Because that means that three departments were fooled by this woman, meaning that while I am sure that we got rid of Obadiah’s thugs…”

“There are S.H.I.E.L.D thugs inside SI.” Happy completed with another curse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally, the reason I had Toni let Natasha into SI is because of all the lovely bugs she’d plant in SI that would work as their entrance into SHIELD itself. Basically turning every stone Toni left unturned the last time because this time: she has no reservations. But I was in the middle of this chap when it occurred to me, how the F did Natasha reached the CEO? How did she pass Human Resources, Security AND Legal enough to gain access to the head of the fricking company? S.H.I.E.L.D already infiltrated SI but “supposedly” Natasha is not only a great spy *side eyes the KO scene with Happy* but a great profiler *UGH!*.
> 
> And how did S.H.I.E.L.D know when exactly to move? They had some femme fatale redhead, they had daddy buttons AND they had that Lithium Dioxide ready to go knowing that would stave off the symptoms… unfortunately, as I wrote this chap, I couldn’t help going back again and again to Pepper’s “friendship” with Phil.


End file.
